Abstract
SummaryBackground & aimsThe COVID-19 pandemic has led to the implementation of stay-at-home and lockdown measures. It is currently unknown if the experience of lockdown leads to long term changes in individual's eating behaviors. The objectives of this study were: i) to derive longitudinal trajectories of change in eating during UK lockdown, and ii) to identify risk factors associated with eating behavior trajectories.MethodData from 22,374 UK adults from the UCL COVID-19 Social study (a panel study collecting weekly data during the pandemic) were analyzed from 28th March to 29th May 2020. Latent Class Growth Analysis was used to derive trajectories of change in eating. These were then associated with prior socio-economic, health-related and psychological factors using multinomial regression models.ResultsAnalyses suggested five trajectories, with the majority (64%) showing no change in eating. In contrast, one trajectory was marked by persistently eating more, whereas another by persistently eating less. Overall, participants with greater depressive symptoms were more likely to report any change in eating. Loneliness was linked to persistently eating more (OR = 1.07), whereas being single or divorced, as well as stressful life events, were associated with consistently eating less (OR = 1.69). Overall, higher education status was linked to lower odds of changing eating behavior (OR = 0.54–0.77). Secondary exploratory analyses suggest that participants self-reported to have overweight were more commonly categorised into the group consistently eating more, whereas participants with underweigh persistently ate less.ConclusionIn this study, we found that one third of the sample report changes in quantities eaten throughout the first UK lockdown period. Findings highlight the importance of adjusting public health programs to support eating behaviors in future lockdowns both in this and potential future pandemics. This is particularly important as part of on-going preventive efforts to prevent nutrition-related chronic diseases.
Highlights
On the 11th of March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic
Responses to the eating behavior change questions during the first ten weeks of lockdown are presented in Supplement Fig. 1
Predictors week starting 28th March Women 18e29 yrs vs 60þ yrs 30e45 yrs vs 60þ yrs 46e59 yrs vs 60þ yrs Low Income
Summary
On the 11th of March 2020, the World Health Organization declared the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak a pandemic. On the 23rd of March, the UK government announced a nationwide lockdown, restricting freedom of movement outside of the home except for limited purposes such as purchasing essential items These measures hugely impacted all aspects of life and resulted in disruption of normal routines and systems of support. Latent Class Growth Analysis was used to derive trajectories of change in eating These were associated with prior socio-economic, health-related and psychological factors using multinomial regression models. Findings highlight the importance of adjusting public health programs to support eating behaviors in future lockdowns both in this and potential future pandemics. This is important as part of on-going preventive efforts to prevent nutrition-related chronic diseases.
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