Lifestyle Behavior Changes in the Post-Pandemic Era among Young Adults

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic caused massive upheavals to the everyday lives, social, and health practices of young adults, and the impact has far-reaching implications that go beyond the immediate response phase of the health crisis. With societies emerging into the post-pandemic period, it is a critical public health consideration to investigate how behavioral disruptions have continued, healed, or evolved. This cross-sectional, quantitative study investigated the changes in lifestyle behavior and predictors of post-pandemic changes in a group of 200 Pakistani young adults aged 18-30 years, university students and new graduates. Changes in dietary quality, meal regularity, physical activity, sleep patterns, and perceived pandemic impact, digital health resource access, and perceived social support were measured with a structured questionnaire with 5-point Likert scales. Reliability was established through the use of Cronbach alpha ( 0.76– 0.84). Extensive worsening of behavior was reported including 64.5% reported deterioration in physical activity, 70.0% deterioration in vigorous physical activity, 58.5% deterioration in nutritional quality and 52.0% deterioration in the quality of sleep; ironically 47.0% reported that sleep duration had improved. Multiple regression identified pandemic impact severity (β = −0.381, p < 0.001), digital health access (β = 0.291, p < 0.001), social support (β = 0.239, p < 0.01), and education level (β = 0.138, p < 0.05) as significant predictors of behavioral recovery (R² = 0.370). The scarring of post-pandemic behavior is prevalent and unevenly distributed, and female, lower-income, and less-educated young adults exhibit persistently poorer recovery. Specialized interventions based on the use of digital health tools and social support networks are urgently required.