Stress, Emotional Eating and Food Choices Among University Students During the Covid-19

Abstract

The Covid-19 pandemic has had a huge impact on stress and eating behaviours. This study aims to determine the relationship between stress, emotional eating, and food choices among university students during the Covid-19. A total of 273 university students participated in this cross-sectional study. Online self-administered questionnaires were used to determine the stress intensity, emotional eating, and eating behaviours. All statistical analyses were performed using Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS). Almost half (49.8%) of the participants experienced high stress. In males, the high-stress group consumed sweets or sugars more frequently than the low-stress group (p<0.05). In females, the high-stress group consumed more sweets or sugar and cakes or cookies but less milk products and fresh fruits than the low-stress group (p<0.05). Students with higher negative emotion scores consumed less cooked vegetables (r=-0.133; p<0.05) whereas students with higher positive emotion scores consumed more fast food (r=0.208; p<0.001), sweets or sugar (r=0.139; p<0.05) and cakes or cookies (r=0.139; p<0.05). Body Mass Index (BMI) was positively correlated with negative emotions (r=0.134; p<0.05), negative situations (r=0.161; p<0.01), and total negative Emotional Appetite Questionnaire (EMAQ) scores (r=0.168; p<0.01). In conclusion, Covid-19 brings negative impact on stress. University students shifted food preferences from healthy foods to palatable foods and this could result in adverse health outcomes. Therefore, stress management interventions and nutrition education should be implemented to reduce stress and overcome stress-induced eating behaviour among private university students during the Covid-19.

Effect of COVID-19 outbreak on the diet, body weight and food security status of students of higher education: a systematic review

“…Huber et al (52) denoted that the increased intake of confectionery products was more pronounced among those who increased their overall food intake during the lockdown. Cheng and Wong (64) suggested that this increase could be related to the COVID-19 perceived stress and observed a more pronounced increase in females than males.…”

“…We found that 24 studies met the inclusion criteria and assessed the dietary changes of college students during the pandemic (30,31,32,34,35,36,37,48,49,50,51,52,53,54,55,56,57,58,59,60,61,62,63,64) . Most of these investigations were cross-sectional and measured the college students' diets via online questionnaires (supplemental table).…”

“…Findings related to diet were further grouped into 2 different sections, dietary intake and dietary habits. Overall, in studies conducted in various nations, the diet quality of college students was reduced (36,55,57,62) during the pandemic due to the decrease in the intake of whole grains (62) , dairy products (34,49,55,62,64) , legumes (55) , nuts (62) , fruits and vegetables (37,55,62,64) and the increase in the intake of confectionery products (32,34,52,64) and refined grains (32,52) . Nevertheless, research strongly indicates that the diet quality improved during lockdown in the study populations in certain nations, especially Spain, which enhanced their adherence to the Mediterranean dietary pattern (31,34,53) .…”

“…Studies conducted on populations who were not following the Mediterranean dietary pattern, such as Canada (62) , China (55) , Malaysia (64) , and the United States (37) , indicated that the intake of fruits and vegetables among college students was reduced during the pandemic. Jia et al (55) , for instance, administered the Lifestyle Change Survey (COINLICS), a nationwide retrospective survey distributed via social media platforms, on 10,082 youth participants in China, before and after the lockdown and showed that there was a significant decrease in the % of students consuming fresh vegetables (from 56.9% to 55.9%) and fruits (from 24.7% to 24%).…”

Dietary Habits, Shopping Behavior and Weight Gain during Covid-19 Pandemic Lockdown among Students in a Private University in Selangor, Malaysia

“…Dietary habits and food preferences among university students during the pandemic, in particular, have attracted a great deal of attention in western countries 10 , 14 and less so in Malaysia. 21 It is necessary to explore the dietary habits, food preferences, shopping behaviour and weight gain among university students in the Malaysian context. Addressing the information gaps will provide the government, public health stakeholders, and higher education sector baseline data needed to properly plan and implement nutrition policies for young adults during quarantine and future outbreaks.…”