Change in eating habits during the Covid 19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: More than 2,500 years ago, Hippocrates said: ,,Let food be thy medicine and medicine be thy food.” The Covid 19 pandemic is caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome, which puts the whole world against unprecedented challenges. It has led to global changes, therefore changes in some daily habits, including eating. A balanced and healthy diet is one of the most important factors contributing to health. Lifestyle changes and stress affect everyone during a pandemic. This made us study if there was a change in eating habits during the Covid 19 pandemic among students from MU-Varna. Materials and Methods: We used documentary analysis and direct anonymous poll. Results and Discussion: From the questionnaire survey conducted among the students of MU-Varna, we established the following: 1. Of the 176 respondents, almost half claimed that the pandemic has not affected or changed their diet. The others indicated a change due to stress, boredom, anxiety or a change in the price of food. 2. A healthy pattern of behavior was observed in 54.1% and they indicated that they ate several times a day, consuming a small amount of food. Contrary to this statement, one third of the respondents ate two or three times a day, but consuming large amounts of food according to them. 3. The respondents were seperated into two equal groups in regard to a question related to body weight during the pandemic, which was a direct reflection of their eating habits. Weight gain was noted by 43.9%, and 45.7% said they did not observe a change in their weight. The fact about weight gain can be explained partially by data from the next question in which one third of the respondents claimed to have increased the consumption of junk food in the last year. 4. Water is necessary for the hydration of the body and the respondents followed the health recommendations. Only 3.5% of them said they did not drink water, but replaced it with juice or carbonated drinks.