Daily Motivation Through Social Media During Pandemic Has a Good Impact on Students' Lifestyles, Hba1c, and Lipid Profiles

Abstract

A school activity has been limited due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Learning from home can lead to a sedentary lifestyle. An innovative program is needed to maintain a healthy lifestyle among students at home. A study to give daily motivation via social media has been conducted to improve students' lifestyles. At once, the study measured its impact on indicators of metabolic syndrome. The overweight and obese students (n=160) were divided into intervention and control groups. Both of them received brief education and motivation to live a healthy lifestyle. Furthermore, the intervention group was given daily supportive motivation messages through the social media group, which was not given to the control group. Lifestyle indicators were measured by step count application, physical activity questionnaire, and the semi-quantitative-food frequency questionnaire. Body Mass Index, HbA1c, and lipid profile measurements were also conducted. An ANCOVA test showed that the intervention group had more daily steps and physical activity than the control (p<0.05). Calorie intake was also lower in the intervention group (p<0.05). The intervention group also had better BMI, HbA1c, and all lipid profiles (p<0.05). Daily motivation should be given to students to improve their lifestyles so that it results in positive effects on metabolic syndrome indicators.