Abstract
Introduction: The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the changes in dietary behavior among the Croatian adult population during the COVID-19 outbreak and to explore the impact of confinement on cooking habits.Methods: The study was based on results from COVIDiet_Int cross-sectional study—a part of COVIDiet project (NCT04449731). A self-administered online questionnaire was used to assess the frequency of food consumption, eating habits, and sociodemographic information. A total number of 4,281 participants (80.5% females and 19.4% males) completed the questionnaire.Results: The Mediterranean Diet Adherence Screener (MEDAS) score before the confinement was 5.02 ± 1.97, while during the confinement, the MEDAS score increased to 5.85 ± 2.04. Participants who had higher adherence to the Mediterranean diet (MedDiet) during the confinement were mostly females (88.8%), aged between 20 and 50 years, with the highest level of education (66.3%) and normal BMI (70.6%). The majority of participants maintained their dietary behavior as it was before COVID-19 confinement, while 36.9% decreased their physical activity. Participants with higher MEDAS score were more eager to increase their physical activity. Additionally, higher median values of MEDAS score were noted for participants with body mass index values below 24.9 kg/m2 (6.0 vs. 5.0 for participants with BMI above 25 kg/m2). Participants in all residence places increased their cooking frequency during the confinement (53.8%), which was associated with an increase in vegetables, legumes, as well as fish and seafood consumption.Conclusions: According to our findings, Croatian adults exhibited medium adherence to the MedDiet during the COVID-19 confinement. The results suggest that cooking frequency could be positively associated with overall dietary quality, which is of utmost importance in these demanding times.
Highlights
The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the changes in dietary behavior among the Croatian adult population during the COVID-19 outbreak and to explore the impact of confinement on cooking habits
Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 started at the end of the year 2020, the main strategy to attenuate the rate of infection includes community-based non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as social distancing, restricting public events, case-based isolation, and confinement [4]
The study sample consisted of 4,281 Croatian adults who completed the questionnaire
Summary
The primary aims of this study were to evaluate the changes in dietary behavior among the Croatian adult population during the COVID-19 outbreak and to explore the impact of confinement on cooking habits. The novel coronavirus disease, COVID-19, caused by the Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome Coronavirus-2 (SARS-CoV2), emerged in late December 2019, in China, and since it has been one of the greatest public health crises the world has ever faced. As a result of its rapid spread, high infectivity, and relatively high mortality, the World Health Organization (WHO) has declared COVID-19 a pandemic on March 12, 2020 [1]. Vaccination against SARS-CoV-2 started at the end of the year 2020, the main strategy to attenuate the rate of infection includes community-based non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) such as social distancing, restricting public events, case-based isolation, and confinement [4]. Croatia follows a similar strategy pattern—a national confinement policy was implemented; public events and many economic activities were stopped, and schools and universities were closed on March 19. After almost 5 weeks of confinement, due to a beneficial epidemiological situation, Croatia started to reactivate its economic and social life in three phases—the first phase, when some business entities were allowed to work, began on April 27; the second phase, when playgrounds and outdoor sports facilities were opened, began on May 4; the third phase, when shopping centers, schools, and kindergartens were reopened, began on May 11 [5]
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