Behavioral Changes During COVID-19 Confinement in France: A Web-Based Study

Abstract

(1) Background: A global pandemic due to COVID-19 emerged in November 2019 and hit France in early March 2020. It not only resulted in a loss of lives but also in very strict confinement measures. The objective of this study was to understand what the determinants of the change in participants’ behavior and mental state were during the confinement. (2) Methods: An online survey was launched on April 23rd, 2020, and closed on May 7th, 2020. The final sample included 1454 participants from 24 to 65 years old. Descriptive and multivariate analyses were then performed. (3) Results: 28.7% reported having a more balanced diet, against 17.1% with a less balanced diet. 22.7% of respondents reported an increased alcohol consumption, as opposed to only 12.2% declaring a decrease and 11.2% of respondents increased their tobacco consumption, while 6.3% decreased it. 50.6% of the participants reported being more depressed, stressed, or irritable since the beginning of the lockdown. Confinement had a negative effect on every behavior studied in this survey, except for nutrition. We also found that negative mental state changes were strongly associated with nutrition, sleep, physical activity, and alcohol consumption changes.

The impact of COVID-19 lockdown on snacking habits, fast-food and alcohol consumption: A systematic review of the evidence

“…Similar assumptions were also made about results from France [ 35 , 36 ] and Australia [ 41 , 43 ], where a tendency towards decrease in alcohol consumption at the end of the lockdown in comparison to the beginning was observed. Results from USA were also differed between the studies [ 17 , 27 , 39 ].…”

“…A total of 1489 studies were identified through databases and reference searching and after removal of 642 duplicates, 847 studies were screened. Hence, 32 studies [ [15] , [16] , [17] , [18] , [19] , [20] , [21] , [22] , [23] , [24] , [25] , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , [30] , [31] , [32] , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [37] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] ] (all cross-sectional) were included in this systematic review. Characteristics of the 32 cross-sectional included studies can be found in Table 1 .…”

“…Changes in alcohol consumption during the lockdown period were reported in 23 cross-sectional studies [ 16 , 17 , 21 , 23 , 24 , [26] , [27] , [28] , [29] , 31 , [33] , [34] , [35] , [36] , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , [45] , [46] ]. Results showed that in 17 out of those 23 studies, alcohol consumption remained unchanged during the lockdown for the majority of participants [ 17 , 21 , 23 , 24 , [26] , [27] , [28] , 33 , 35 , 36 , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , 43 , 44 , 46 ]. However, a tendency towards increased alcohol consumption has been be observed for the rest of their examined participants (14.2–38.5%) in the majority of these studies (13 of 17) [ 17 , 23 , 24 , 26 , 27 , 35 , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , 43 , 44 , 46 ].…”

“…Our results with respect to alcohol during the lockdown period showed that for the majority of the population examined the consumption remained stable [ 17 , 21 , 23 , 24 , [26] , [27] , [28] , 33 , 35 , 36 , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , 43 , 44 , 46 ]. However, a significant portion of the population examined increased its alcohol consumption during the confinement time [ 17 , 23 , 24 , 26 , 27 , 29 , 35 , [38] , [39] , [40] , [41] , [42] , [43] , [44] , 46 ].…”

Challenges in Feeding Children Posed by the COVID-19 Pandemic: a Systematic Review of Changes in Dietary Intake Combined with a Dietitian’s Perspective

“…Mixed results within a study were also available from Italy where one study reported both perceived improvements (34%) and declines (19%) [9]. Improvements in overall dietary quality were available from Saudi Arabia [40], Brazil [41], Canada [42], and Spain (via a closer adherence to a Mediterranean-style diet [43,44]).…”