Confinement at home, quarantine, and social distancing are some measures adopted worldwide to prevent the spread of Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus 2 (SARS-Cov-2), which has been generating an important alteration in the routines and qualities of life of people. The impact on health is still being evaluated, and consequences in the nutritional field are not entirely clear. The study objective was to evaluate the current evidence about the impact that preventive measures of physical contact restriction causes in healthy nutrition. A systematic review was carried out according to the “Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses” PRISMA Group and Cochrane method for rapid systematic reviews. Searching was performed in six electronic databases and evaluated articles published between 2010 and 2020, including among their participants adult subjects who had been exposed to the preventive measures of physical contact restriction. Seven studies met the selection criteria and reported an overall increase in food consumption, weight, Body Mass Index (BMI), and a change in eating style. Findings suggest that healthy nutrition is affected by preventive measures to restrict physical contact as a result of the COVID-19 syndemic.

Background People with good health knowledge present a conceptual and objective appropriation of general and specific health topics, increasing their probability to express health protection and prevention measures. The main objective of this study was to conduct a rapid systematic review about the effects of health knowledge on the adoption of health behaviors and attitudes in populations under pandemic emergencies. Methods A systematic review was performed according to PRISMA checklist and the Cochrane method for rapid systematic reviews. Studies searches were performed in APA PsycNet, Embase, Cochrane Library and PubMed Central. Studies published between January 2009 and June 2020 and whose primary results reported a measure of interaction between health knowledge, health attitudes and behaviors in population groups during pandemics were included. A review protocol was recorded in PROSPERO (CRD42020183347). Results Out of a total of 5791 studies identified in the databases, 13 met the inclusion criteria. The included studies contain a population of 26099 adults, grouped into cohorts of health workers, university students, clinical patients, and the general population. Health knowledge has an important influence on the adoption of health behaviors and attitudes in pandemic contexts. Conclusions The consolidation of these preventive measures favors the consolidation of public rapid responses to infection outbreaks. Findings of this review indicate that health knowledge notably favors adoption of health behaviors and practices. Therefore, health knowledge based on clear and objective information would help them understand and adopt rapid responses to face a pandemic.