COVID-19 Lockdown and Self-Perceived Changes of Food Choice, Waste, Impulse Buying and Their Determinants in Italy: QuarantEat, a Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Data about self-perceived food choice (FC) changes and their determinants during COVID-19 lockdowns are limited. This study investigated how the Italian lockdown affected self-perceived food purchases (FP), occurrence of impulse buying (IB), household food waste production (HFWP) and their determinants. A web-based cross-sectional survey was distributed in May 2020, collecting an opportunistic sample of the Italian population. A total of 1865 (70% females) people were enrolled, the median age was 29 (IQR 16.0). Most of the sample increased overall FP (53.4%), food consumption (43.4%), reduced HFWP (53.7%) and halved the prevalence of IB (20.9%) compared to the period before the lockdown (42.5%). Baking ingredients, fresh vegetables, fresh fruit and chocolate had the largest sales increase by individuals, while bakery products, fresh fish and salted snacks purchases highly decreased. Increased FP was associated with the occurrence of IB (adjOR 2.48, p < 0.001) and inversely associated with not having worked during lockdown (adjOR 0.71, p = 0.003). Multivariable logistic regressions revealed occurrence of IB was associated with low perceived dietary quality (adjOR 2.22, p < 0.001), resulting at risk, according to the Emotional Overeating Questionnaire (EOQ, adjOR 1.68, p < 0.001), and inversely associated with decreased HFWP (adjOR 0.73, p < 0.012). Reduced HFWP was associated with higher perceived dietary quality (adjOR 2.27, p < 0.001) and negatively associated with low score at WHO-5 Well-Being Index (adjOR 0.72, p = 0.002). The Italian lockdown highly affected FC behaviours, leading to positive and sustainable habits towards food purchase and consumption. Public health interventions are needed to keep these new positive effects and avoid negative consequences in case of future lockdowns.

Composition and Nutritional Quality of the Diet in Spanish Households during the First Wave of the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…Some of the studies report improvements and others report worsening diets. In Italy, the lockdown highly affected food choice behaviours, leading to positive and sustainable purchase and consumption habits [ 13 , 36 ]. In the PLACE-19 study, in Polish adolescents, the authors concluded that the COVID-19 pandemic may have changed the food choice determinants, increasing the importance of health and weight control while reducing the role of mood and sensory appeal [ 15 ].…”

“…Some of them observed an increase in the consumption of healthy foods and in home cooking practices, and a lower consumption of foods of poor nutritional value [ 7 , 9 ], while others found that, during lockdown, diet was characterized by a higher energy intake and lower nutritional quality than in 2019 [ 10 ]. Changes in eating habits were also observed in other European countries, such as Italy [ 11 , 12 , 13 ], Poland [ 14 , 15 ], Denmark [ 16 ], Germany, Slovenia [ 8 ], Ireland and Great Britain [ 17 ]. Although the reasons for these changes are still not fully understood, some authors have suggested that personal characteristics may modulate them, shaping different patterns of change [ 18 , 19 ].…”

The impact of COVID-19 outbreak and perceptions of people towards household waste management chain in Nepal

“…As a consequence of the pandemic, the volume and sources of waste generation change; however, the traditional causes of environmental pollution from the different sectors like transportation, aviation, and industries have declined sharply (Myllyvirta 2020 ; Sarkodie and Owusu 2020 ). Similarly, the food production and consumption system has undergone significant changes and ultimately resulted in the sudden and radical change in the daily life of people worldwide and resulted in adverse effects on lifestyle, eating habits, and other household characteristics (Cosgrove et al 2021 ; Di Renzo et al 2020 ; Principato et al 2020 ; Scacchi et al 2021 ).…”

Covid-19 outbreak and household food waste: Evidence from Turkey

“…The reasons for the decrease in waste were changes in eating and cooking habits, having more time to prepare and cook meals, and financial constraints. Also, the food waste amount has been associated increased food stock, increased in the amount of food purchased, and the amount of food cooked.In another study conducted in Italy, it was concluded that more than half of the participants (53.7%) reduced food waste in their households (Scacchi et al, 2021). In a study that included participants from the U.S. and Italy, approximately half (49.0%) of respondents reported a decrease in food waste during the Covid-19 pandemic than before the pandemic (Rodgers et al, 2021).…”

“…The Covid-19 outbreak has caused changes in the characteristics of the food consumers to buy. Scacchi et al (2021) has found a decrease in the purchase of fresh products that can deteriorate quickly, characterized by short shelf life. Our study determined that 34.3% of the participants had a change in the characteristics of the foods they purchased.…”