K. Venkatesan, Jawaharlal Nehru Rajkeeya Mahavidyalaya, Port Blair
Saravana Selvi C, Gandhigram Rural Institute, Dindigul
Pages:78 – 83
The COVID-19 pandemic had a significant impact on people’s mental health. Most people, including health and other frontline workers, students, people living alone, and those with preexisting mental health conditions, have been particularly affected. The COVID-19 pandemic to be had many challenges to students, educators, and parents. The stakeholders of Educational Institutions especially school going students had a stressful time. The student’s mental health conditions have been treated most vulnerable during this pandemic situation. Nutrition is one of the main factors that can contribute to mental health either by supporting a healthy body and healthy lifestyle or, if there are poor dietary choices, making some existing stress worse. Good nutritional intake has been closely connected to academic success from a young age, with many studies reporting that providing students with breakfast improves their academic performance. The study’s main aim is to assess the relationship between mental health and diet during the lockdown period of the COVID-19 pandemic. The study is descriptive in nature, based on the survey method.Hundredschool students were randomly selected from the schools in Port Blair to measure the role of nutrition and mental health during COVID-19 pandemic. A structured questionnaire was used to collect the information from the students. The collected data were coded, analysed and presented in frequency tables using descriptive and inferential statistics through SPSS package v.23. The study found that 95 per cent of the students reported that they had their food regularly without skipping the meals. Eighty-seven per cent of the students were regularly included fruits and vegetables in their daily diet. The study concluded that the food consumption pattern and food choices among students strongly correlate with mental health.
Keywords: COVID-19, Mental Health, Nutrition, Diet, Food, Students.