Impact of social isolation by Coronavirus disease 2019 in food: a narrative review

Abstract

The objective of this narrative review, with a systematic survey, was to investigate the impact of social isolation on food (eating habits) during the 2019 Coronavirus disease pandemic. A retrieval of studies published from January 1st, 2019 to June 18th, 2020 was carried out in the PubMed, Web of Science and Embase databases. The screening was structured using the terms corresponding to Coronavirus disease 2019, social isolation and food. All steps were carried out independently by three reviewers. Twelve studies were included, totaling 20,789 people assessed, with a predominance of cross-sectional studies of adult population. The studies reviewed had been carried out in Italy (n=4), Spain (n=2), Poland (n=1), China (n=1), India (n=1), United States of America (n=1), South Africa (n=1) and in a continental multicenter (n=1). The analysis of the studies included showed that most people reported that they did not change their usual diet; in addition, an increase in cooking habits, consumption of fruits and vegetables and a decrease in the consumption of alcoholic beverages was observed. A decrease in fish consumption and an increase in comfort foods were also reported. It was found that food habits changed in times of social isolation. We suggest that new investigations be carried out in different socioeconomic and demographic frameworks. We propose to continue the study on this theme, with a systematic review with or without meta-analysis.

NuMoOS – COVID-19 Nutrition and Mood Online Survey: Perception about dietary aspects, stress, anxiety, and depression in the social isolation of Coronavirus Disease 2019

“…Social isolation is associated with eating habits modification [50,51]. A study during social isolation period observed similar results where 64% of the participants, most of them, did not refer to any change in food consumption.…”

Availability and access to food in supermarkets before and during the Covid-19 pandemic in a mid-size city

“…The ConVid -Behavior Survey (ConVid -Pesquisa de Comportamentos) carried out by Fundação Oswaldo Cruz (Fiocruz, Foundation Oswaldo Cruz) detected worsening eating conditions during the pandemic, with the regular consumption of fruits, vegetables, and beans falling, and growing consumption of ultra-processed foods like packed snacks, cookies, chocolates, and frozen foods [23]. Changes in eating patterns during social isolation include the portions of food ingested, number of meals, culinary habits, methods of preparation, acquisition, food availability, the general quality of food, and food-related behaviors [13].…”

“…That leads to an expanding preference for ultra-processed foods, which are low-cost and less healthy [10][11][12]. For instance, a recent review Matsuo et al, [13] identified changes in people's eating patterns during the pandemic, such as increasing consumption of high-energy dense foods with high levels of sugar and fat (sweets, sugary drinks, and salty snacks).…”

Cambios en los estilos de vida durante el confinamiento por COVID-19

“…Bajo este enfoque, la organización de los menús y la preparación de alimentos saludables se beneficiaron con el tiempo invertido, ya que contribuyó a una mejor elección y organización. Sin embargo, la realidad generada por el confinamiento dista de ese enfoque, puesto que se ha notado un alto consumo de alimentos ultraprocesados y una disminución de aquellos que representan beneficios para la salud y que influyen en la nutrición (Matsuo et al, 2021;Sudriá et al, 2020).…”

“…El confinamiento establecido por la pandemia por la COVID-19 ha hecho que la alimentación emocional sea un tema de gran importancia. Lo anterior se relaciona con el alto consumo de alimentos grasos abundantes en calorías y se asocia con la presencia de estrés, factor de riesgo para desarrollar obesidad (Almendra-Pegueros et al, 2021), que genera ansiedad por la comida y lleva a la necesidad compulsiva de consumir alimentos azucarados conocidos como "alimentos reconfortantes" (comfort foods), lo cual engloba diferentes procesos emocionales (deseo de comer), conductuales (búsqueda de comida), cognitivos (pensar en comida) y fisiológicos (salivación) (Almendra-Pegueros et al, 2021;Matsuo et al, 2021;Muscogiuri et al, 2020).…”