Lahore Garrison University

Presented to: Mam Faiqa Yaseen

Presented by: Ayesha Batool
Roll no: Fa-2020-MSCP-020
 Increased emotional eating during COVID-19
associated with lockdown, psychological and social
distress
INTRODUCTION

• The Authors. Published by Elsevier, Published in 14 January 2021

• After China, Italy was the first country in which the Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic rapidly spread.

• Restrictions were required to prevent people from being infected, the prolonged lockdown, social isolation, uncertainty,

and the potential negative consequences in the near future triggered a variety of psychological problems:

• The combination of stress, anxiety, and depression an impact also on the eating behaviors.
• Dysfunctional eating habits(Binge eating and emotional eating) to be predicted by both stress and negative

emotions, such as anxiety and depression

• Binge eating consists of ingesting a large amount of food in a short amount of time, combined with a sense of

lack of control during the episode.

• Emotional eating consists of excessive eating in response to arousal states such as anger, fear, and anxiety

• Previous literature has shown that people who have overweight are particularly at risk for emotional eating

during negative emotional states

• The study aimed at investigating, through an online survey, how COVID-19 lockdown affected emotional

eating and binge eating in the Italian residents.

Materials and Methods:

Participants:

It was online survey and participants were invited to complete a survey on the changes in eating behaviours during the

lockdown.

A total of 635 participants started the survey, many participants were removed due to many reasons like incomplete, missed

information etc, the sample remain is 365.

Measures:

The online survey was divided into three parts. In the first part, socio-demographic information, The second and the

third parts included questionnaires that referred respectively to the first and second Phases of the lockdown. They included

questions regarding the present home residence, the number of people living with the participant
and how occupation changed from the previous Phase

Questionnaire:

In questionnaire

• 7-Item Binge-Eating Disorder Screener,

• subsection of the Dutch Eating Behaviour Questionnaire investigating Emotional Eating, the Patient

• Health Questionnaire investigating depressive symptoms,

• Generalized Anxiety Disorder scale,

• The Perceived Stress Scale.

Sample Characteristics:

The main sample (n = 365) included only respondents who declared not having a current or past eating

disorder. Fifty-five participants reported that, before the lockdown, they had a part-time job,

166 that they had a full-time job,

106 reported to be students, and 39 that they were not employed ( retired).

During the lockdown, the type of occupation slightly changed between Phase 1 and 2: in Phase 1, 280 respondents

were home working or not working, 50 were employed at a desk job and not working from home, 23 were

employed in public-facing jobs and 12 had jobs which put them in contact with COVID patients, in Phase 2, 221

were home working or not working, 96 were employed at a desk job and not working from home, 39 were

employed in public-facing jobs and 9 had jobs that put them in contact with COVID patients.
Hypothesis

 hypothesis, that emotional distress and poor quality of life during lockdown would lead to

increased self-reported emotional eating and more frequent binge eating was confirmed. Indeed

increased emotional eating was significantly predicted by higher level of anxiety, depression, and,

partially, by Quality of Life and Quality of the Relationships.

 second hypothesis, that the lockdown restrictions would impact more individuals with higher BMI

were associated by increased emotional eating and higher BMI scores were associated with both

increased emotional eating and binge eating.

 third hypothesis, we showed that emotional eating and binge eating decreased significantly in

Phase 2 compared to Phase 1.

Results:

 Results found a significantly higher prevalence of binge eating both in Phase 1 and in Phase 2.

 BMI only predicted higher binge eating among individuals with a higher stress score. emotional eating

significantly increased with a higher level of negative emotions

 presented higher emotional eating during Phase 1 as compared to Phase 2

 low socioeconomic status seems to affect BMI through increased psychological distress and emotional

eating

Conclusion:

In conclusion, our study shows evidence of the negative effects of isolation and lockdown on eating

behaviour in the Italian population. Even though these restrictions were needed

 To prevent the spread of the pandemic

 Health recommendation

Limitations

 There was an uneven number of males and female participants

 our sample could be considered small for an online survey

 acquired longitudinally study

 participants bias, which could have introduced some bias in our sample as it excluded those people that could

not use personal computers or smartphones.

 Should structured interview.

 Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105122
Eating habits and lifestyle changes during the COVID-19
lockdown: A comparative study (before and during
isolation) on the 9 de Julio city
• Introduction

• The main aim of the study was to focus on the impact of a health crisis on consumers’ behaviour regarding eating

habits and lifestyle changes. The survey was carried out in the 9 de Julio city, a small city located in the Buenos Aires

province, Argentina, published in November,2020.

• The population can experience various negative emotions that can contribute to altering food consumption, involving

emotional aspects (intense desire to eat), behavioral (looking for food) and cognitive (thoughts related to food).
Material And Methods:

Survey Methodology: The survey using a web-survey to obtain data about people eating habits and lifestyle during the

COVID-19 lockdown. The survey was carried out in the 9 de Julio city, a small city located in the Buenos Aires province,

Argentina.

• It included 78 questions; divided in different sections:

• sociodemographic data, eating habits,

• physical activity and

• concepts and emotions associated with isolation.

• All participants were fully informed about the study requirements and were required to accept the data sharing and privacy

policy before participating in the study.

Sociodemographic data:

The research reached 287 responses with a medium socioeconomic level. The age range of the respondents was 20 to 70

years, with a mean age of 41 years. 82% of the surveys were carried out by women and 80% had completed high school.
Results:

• When comparing the financial situation before and during isolation, 69% of the respondents having a financial situation

“Worse” during isolation. The remaining 28% having the same financial situation as before the isolation.

• During isolation, the frequency of purchases decreased.

• Also changes were observed in the consumption of pasta, bread and cakes, This category of products was also increased

in other studies

• About 53% fully agreed with the following statement: “By spending more time at home and being able to cook, I can

eat healthier and better”. As well as, when respondents were asked about the consumption frequency of snacks, candies,

ice-cream or fast food; frequency 1-2 times a week decreased a during isolation;

• the perception of weight gain was observed in 68.6% of the population

• Concepts and emotions associated with isolation

• A percentage greater than 50% of the surveyed population associated the

situation of lockdown with positive emotions (share with the family, stay at

home); while only 24% associate it with negative emotions (anxiety, anguish,

fear).

• Concerning the concept “My anxiety influences my usual way of eating,” the

opinions were divided; 42% of the surveyed population did not agree with this

sentence and a similar percentage (43%) agreed with this sentence.

CONCLUSION:

In this study, we have provided for the first-time data on lifestyle, eating habits and

other habits during the COVID-19 lockdown in a small city far from the big urban

centres.

It is expected that most habits will return to normal; however, it would be interesting to

know which of those developed, adopted and implemented during lockdown will

remain in the new normality.

Further studies are needed to investigate the long-lasting effects and adaptation of food

consumption behaviour.
Link: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105122

THANKS