Composition and Nutritional Quality of the Diet in Spanish Households during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

Abstract

In Spain, the health crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic led to the declaration of a state of alarm in the whole country in 2020; in this context, a nationwide lockdown was implemented, potentially altering the dietary habits of the population. The aims of this study were to describe the diet and its nutritional quality in Spanish households during the first COVID-19 epidemic wave and to compare them with the same period in 2019. Data on monthly foods and beverages household purchases in 2019 and 2020 were obtained from the nationwide Food Consumption Surveys. In April, there was an average increase, compared with 2019, of more than 40% for all food groups, with significant peaks in: alcoholic beverages (75%), appetizers (60%), eggs (59%), sugar and sweets (52%), and vegetables (50%). In March, the greatest peak was for pulses, with a 63% increment. The mean energy value of purchased foods in April was 2801 kcal/person/day, corresponding to an increase of 771 kcal/person/day (+38%), compared to the same month of 2019 (March and May: +520 kcal (+26%), June: +343 kcal (+18%)). Regarding nutrient density, there was a reduction in calcium, iodine, zinc, selenium, riboflavin, vitamins B12, D, A, especially retinol, and an increase in fibre, sodium, folic acid, carotenes and vitamin E. Alcohol content per 1000 kcal increased by more than 20% from April to July. Food purchase patterns in Spanish households changed during lockdown and after it, with no appreciable improvement in the quality of the diet.

Use of Food Services by Consumers in the SARS-CoV-2 Pandemic. How the Eating Habits of Consumers Changed in View of the New Disease Risk Factors?

“…Similar relationships are also indicated by other authors, including an increase in consumption of animal products and snacks [53,113], increasing salty snacks [32], increasing fat consumption [31], increasing 'junk food' consumption [61], snacking between meals [59], increased use of alcohol [65], and increasing sweets [34,65], especially during the lockdown. Authors [35,69,114] indicated that the stress associated with pandemic influenced on increases in emotional food of consumption, tasty but with high energy value.…”

“…Some studies indicate the socio-economic effects of pandemic on individual aspects of the world economy [ 54 , 55 , 56 , 57 , 58 ]. Many previous research papers [ 14 , 28 , 32 , 33 , 34 , 35 , 53 , 59 , 60 , 61 , 62 , 63 , 64 , 65 , 66 , 67 , 68 , 69 , 70 , 71 ] conducted during the pandemic were devoted to the impact of the situation on eating habits, adherence to a the Mediterranean diet in Italy, a potential protective role of micronutrients, phytochemicals and Mediterranean diet against COVID-19, the potential to increase the stress level and its associated impact on the pre-existing diseases such as diabetes and changes in the diet of people or the impact of nutritional status in patients with COVID-19 and those who have had the disease [ 61 , 72 , 73 , 74 ]. So far, only a few studies [ 31 , 63 ] have analyzed the impact of the pandemic on use of food services.…”

Risky Behaviours of Spanish University Students: Association with Mediterranean Diet, Sexual Attitude and Chronotype

“…According to other studies, having good breakfast habits [40] and having breakfast daily [41] are positively associated with lower consumption of alcohol and tobacco. "Taking sweets and candy several times every day" and its relationship with higher risk alcohol consumption has been shown in other studies [42,43]. Specifically, in Spain, coinciding with the confinement by COVID-19 pandemic, there was an increase in the purchase of alcoholic beverages along with sweets and pastries [42].…”

The Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Mass Market Retailing of Wine in Italy

“…Cavallo et al [15] presented an overview of the main changes in food habits during the lockdown, analyzing purchases of different food products compared to 2019. Using food purchase data, Del Pozo de la Calle et al [17] described the nutritional quality of diets in Spanish households during the first COVID-19 epidemic wave and detected variations with respect to the same period of 2019. Bracale and Vaccaro [14] analyzed IRI data of 30 categories of food products during the first period of the pandemic (from 23 February to 29 March 2020) and explored the differences with sales from the same period of 2019.…”

“…Although several previous studies have explored the changing trends in food purchases during the pandemic, analyzing the variations of sales compared to 2019 [14][15][16][17], there is a lack of information regarding wine purchases. In addition to representing a traditional element in food expenditures of Italians, wine is a suitable product to identify market trends in a period of crisis.…”