Background and PurposeThe Covid-19 pandemic has impacted the mental health of students and exacerbated the prevalence of anxiety among them. The purpose of the literature review was to consolidate evidence for the prevalence of anxiety among students of higher education during the COVID-19 pandemic and to underscore the effect of various pandemic-related factors on this anxiety. Methods A comprehensive literature search was conducted utilizing various databases such as MEDLINE, PsycInfo Google Scholar, ScienceDirect, Scopus, and Embase to identify relevant studies. To be incorporated in this review, studies had to include students of higher education, measure the prevalence of anxiety, and assess anxiety during Covid-19 pandemic.Results 37 studies met the inclusion criteria and assessed the prevalence of anxiety among students during confinement. Studies showed that more than one-third of the students suffered from anxiety during the early stages of the pandemic. Moreover, being a female, living in rural areas, facing financial hardship, working full-time, spending the quarantine in isolation, worrying about infection for themselves and others, having the uncertainty of the future, having reduced sleep quality, and transitioning to online learning, were factors associated with increased anxiety during the pandemic. Conclusion Anxiety was shown to be highly prevalent among the student population during the Covid-19 pandemic. Higher education institutions and governments should take action to ensure the safety and the physical, social, and mental wellbeing of the students.

The Covid-19 pandemic has impacted college students’ lifestyles and placed them at a greater risk of obesity and food insecurity. The purpose of the systematic review was to consolidate evidence for the effect of Covid-19 on students’ dietary quality, dietary habits, body weight, and food security status. A comprehensive literature search was conducted utilizing various databases including Google Scholar, MEDLINE, ScienceDirect, Embase, and Scopus to identify relevant studies. To be incorporated in this review, studies had to include higher education students, measure the prevalence of food insecurity, and assess the dietary and body weight changes during the Covid-19 pandemic. The studies showed that the diet quality of college students was compromised during the pandemic in many nations due to the decrease in the intake of whole grains, dairy products, legumes, nuts, fruits, and vegetables and the increase in consumption of alcohol, confectionery products, and refined grains. There was an increase in the frequency of cooking, binge eating, breakfast skipping, and unhealthy snacking. These modifications, in return, were associated with body weight changes, with no less than 20 to 30 % of students gaining weight during the pandemic. The pandemic also impacted food security status of students, with over 30% being food insecure worldwide. The Covid-19 outbreak has exacerbated the students’ diet quality and dietary habits and placed them under high risk of weight gain and food insecurity. Higher education institutions and governments should improve students’ access to nutritious foods and incorporate nutrition education interventions in the curricula.

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Objective: The aim of this study was to assess the effect of Full Plate Diet (FPD) on the primary prevention of cardio-metabolic risk factors. Design: Randomised clinical trial. Setting: Drayson Center, Loma Linda University, CA, USA. Methods: Forty individuals were randomly assigned to either an intervention group receiving the FPD health education for 10 weeks or to a control group not receiving this intervention. Comprehensive evaluations of clinical and anthropometric outcomes were conducted at baseline and at the end of intervention. To assess within-group changes and between-group differences, a general linear model was used. Results: Significant reductions in weight (−1.54 kg, 95% confidence interval [CI] −2.5, −.54) and total cholesterol (TC) (−11.7 mg/dL; 95% CI −21.4, −2) and non-significant reductions in means for low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (LDL-C) (−7.3 mg/dL, 95% CI −16, 1.5) and triglycerides (−18.7 mg/dL, 95% CI −46, 8.5) were observed in the intervention group after 10 weeks compared with baseline. These reductions were non-significantly higher in the intervention compared with the control group. There were no significant mean changes in systolic and diastolic blood pressure, high-density lipoprotein cholesterol (HDL-C) and haemoglobin A1c (A1c) in the intervention group after 10 weeks. Conclusion: A multi-component programme comprising 10 weeks of health education that emphasised the high intake of fibre failed to significantly reduce cardio-metabolic risk factors. It did show a downward trend in triglycerides, TC and body weight that may be of clinical importance suggesting that a future investigation with a longer intervention duration is needed.

Background The gut microbiome is a highly diverse, metabolically active and complex community of microorganisms that has a vast number of biological roles which benefit the host. Diet, in particular fiber, has been shown to be a strong influencer of gut microbiota composition, diversity, and richness. Research conducted to investigate the impact of fiber intake on microbiota has involved mainly supplement interventions. Food interventions have not been shown to have a significant effect on these microbes which could be related to the lower level of fiber intake attained from the whole foods vs supplements. Objective The main aim was to assess if the improvement in daily fiber intake to 40g/day from whole foods, among the participants of the Full Plate Diet (FPD) trial, had a positive impact on the gut microbiota diversity and composition. Design Secondary analysis of the FPD, a randomised clinical trial. Setting Drayson Center, Loma Linda University, CA, USA. Methods Fecal samples were collected from 34 FPD participants (n=18 for intervention group receiving the health education; n=16 for the control group) at baseline and after the termination of the intervention using fecal occult blood. Then, after DNA extraction, 16S rRNA gene sequencing was performed to determine the relative abundance of taxa in a bacterial community, and to compare the changes in the overall microbial profile over time between the 2 study groups. For the statistical analysis, alpha diversity was estimated with the Shannon Diversity Index; the significance of alpha diversity differences was tested with linear mixed model. To estimate beta diversity across samples, we computed Bray‐Curtis indices. Variation in community structure was assessed with permutational multivariate analyses of variance (PERMANOVA). For the purpose of measuring abundance, differential abundance testing was conducted. Results No significant differences in the Shannon Diversity Index were observed between baseline and post‐intervention (P= 0.63). Furthermore, after summarizing operational taxonomic units (OTUs) abundances into Bray‐Curtis dissimilarities, performing a pcoa ordination, and conducting permutational analysis of variance, we determined no significant differences in beta‐diversity either (P = 0.99). No significant differences when it comes to the abundance of various taxa of microbiota were observed. Conclusion The increase of dietary fiber intake in the form of whole foods was not associated with a change in the abundance and diversity of microbiota in the participants of the FPD trial.