Eating habits of children and adolescents during the COVID-19 era: A systematic review

Abstract

The COVID19 pandemic has affected all aspects of people's lives. Eating habit plays a crucial role in children and adolescents' physical and mental development and the impacts might last until adulthood. This systematic review aimed to summarize a comprehensive and updated overview of eating habits changes due to COVID19 confinements among children and adolescents. A systematic literature search was performed in three databases for all the English studies published from the start of the confinements until April 2022. Two researchers screened articles independently and included observational studies which evaluated children's and adolescents' eating habits before and during confinements. The quality of the included studies was assessed by Newcastle-Ottawa Quality Assessment checklists for cross-sectional and cohort studies. Among 2,436 studies, 39 final full-text articles were included. The total participants of this systematic review consist of 157,900 children and adolescents. Seven categories were identified: daily eating patterns, junk food, beverage, fruits and vegetables, milk and dairy, protein-rich foods, and legumes and cereals. In summary, most of the included studies reported a significant increase in consumption of home-cooked meals, amount of food, snack, french fries, sweets, fruits, vegetables, legumes, bread, and bakery products. On the other hand, studies demonstrated significantly lower intake of fast food and soft drink. The studies reported controversial results about breakfast consumption, sugar-added drinks, caffeinated drinks, milk and dairy products, protein-rich foods (including meat, fish, egg and chicken, and poultry), rice, and cereal. Changes in children's and adolescents' eating habits during the COVID-19 era were both positive and negative, for example, a decrease in fast food, fruit, and vegetable consumption vs. an increase in snacking and sweet consumption. Both changes have significant short-term and long-term impacts on population health. This study could provide us with insight into the changes in eating habits in children and adolescents in the COVID-19 era which we can use to limit the negative consequences on health.

Impact of home confinement due to the COVID‐19 outbreak on vitamin D levels and trends among children with pneumonia aged 1–35 months

“…Second, our data lacked information of weather related to differences in sunlight exposure during different periods and the participants' dietary information, including the dietary structure and duration of breastfeeding. In addition, a current study suggests that eating habits changed because of COVID‐19 confinement among children 31 . These factors might have resulted in biased estimates.…”

“…In addition, a current study suggests that eating habits changed because of COVID-19 confinement among children. 31 These factors might have resulted in biased estimates. Finally, we did not collect the serum 25(OH)D concentration of healthy children in the same period, so we cannot be sure whether the decrease in vitamin D levels caused by home confinement led to the increased susceptibility to pneumonia in children.…”

Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet and Health-Related Quality of Life during the COVID-19 Lockdown: A Cross-Sectional Study including Preschoolers, Children, and Adolescents from Brazil and Spain

“…For instance, a greater consumption of unhealthy foods was identified, especially among vulnerable populations such as children and adolescents [ 5 ]. Furthermore, a recent systematic review conducted by Pourghazi et al [ 6 ] has pointed out uneven changes before and during the COVID-19 pandemic in young people (i.e., an increase in sweet and snack intake and a decrease in fruit, vegetables, and fast-food intake consumption). Supporting this notion, an additional aspect of concern from a public health perspective is the increase in the prevalence of malnutrition (e.g., excess weight) among children and adolescents during the COVID-19 pandemic [ 7 ].…”

School-based intervention on behavioral intention of adolescents regarding healthy diet in India

“…The issue of healthy and unhealthy food consumption among adolescents is crucial, even considering the COVID-19 pandemic. The findings from one systematic review and meta-analysis conducted by Pourghazi et al ( 8 ) stated that the impact of COVID-19 on children and adolescents eating habits was positive and negative, for example, a decrease in fast food, fruits, and vegetable consumption and an increase in snacks and sweet consumption. Both the changes may have a critical short- and long-term impact on adolescents' health.…”