How did the COVID-19 pandemic impact eating behaviour during the first wave?

The Paper of the Month for December is Poor appetite and overeating reported by adults in Australia during the coronavirus-19 disease pandemic: a population-based study and is free to access for 1 month.

The COVID-19 pandemic and associated containment lockdowns have had profound social and personal impacts, including unemployment and its financial ramifications, disruption to social interactions, and concern about contracting a potentially fatal new disease. 

The first ‘lockdown’ was initiated across Australia following declaration of a state of emergency on 22 March 2020. We were interested in exploring the impact of this upon eating behaviour. Media reports at the time told stories of empty supermarket shelves due to panic buying, which may have resulted in a steady diet of tinned foods, rice, pasta and biscuits for some. Based upon their social media feeds, some people might have told you that lockdown-mark-1 was all about elaborate #isobaking.  Those facing uncertain financial circumstances may have been more concerned about just getting food on the table.

What we eat is influenced by an array of factors; social, cultural, economic, environmental, seasonal, health-related and mood-related. In a survey of over 13,500 adults in Australia conducted between the 3rd April and 2nd May 2020, we asked the question: “Over the past 2 weeks, how often have you been bothered by poor appetite or overeating?”

First and foremost, this was a very real problem for many: more than half of those surveyed reported that they had been bothered by poor appetite or overeating during the previous fortnight. There were some key groups more greatly impacted, and it is important to acknowledge the challenges faced by members of our community as we see new waves of COVID-19 and further lockdowns. Women, single parents, and those experiencing a high level of anxiety about contracting COVID-19 had greater odds of being bothered by poor appetite or overeating.

Overeating is related to the presence of easy-to-access food in the surrounding environment.  In lockdown, people whose pre-pandemic routine was leaving the house to go to work or study may have found themselves working from home, and less able to ‘physically distance’ from the fridge and kitchen pantry. Interestingly we found that people who were not working or studying outside the home before lockdown (and perhaps more accustomed to spending time at home) appeared to fare better in terms of overeating or poor appetite.

While short periods of dietary behaviour change may not significantly impact upon weight, with longer term or subsequent periods of lockdown this may become of greater public health concern, not to mention individual concern. Our research suggests that there are factors that may limit (older age, regional dwelling, being more accustomed to spending time at home) or increase (female gender, anxiety, depression, being in lockdown with children) risk of being bothered by poor appetite or overeating for adults during lockdown.  Both universal and targeted public health promotion strategies may be required to assist people to restore healthier eating patterns with society-wide confinement and disruptions to routine.  

Each month a paper is selected by one of the Editors of the five Nutrition Society Publications (British Journal of Nutrition, Public Health Nutrition, Nutrition Research Reviews, Proceedings of the Nutrition Society and Journal of Nutritional Science). Take a look at the entire Nutrition Society Paper of the Month Collection.

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