Food and alcohol disturbance among young adults during the COVID-19 lockdown in Italy: risk and protective factors

Abstract

Purpose The COVID-19 lockdown measures have had a significant impact on risk behaviors as alcohol use and disordered eating. However, little is known about a serious health-risk-behavior named “food and alcohol disturbance” (FAD), characterized by engaging in dysfunctional eating on days of planned alcohol consumption. The aim of the present study was to investigate potential factors that may have put young adults at risk or protected against FAD during the COVID-19 lockdown. Methods A sample of 447 young adults (280 females, 167 males; range 18–26) completed an online survey during the country’s nationwide lockdown composed of self-reported measures assessing FAD behaviors, alcohol consumption, compensatory behaviors, eating and weight concerns, social support, emotion regulation strategies, and living arrangement. Results Our findings showed that FAD was significantly and positively correlated to alcohol consumption, use of laxatives, self-induced vomiting, eating and weight concerns, and expressive suppression, and negatively correlated to social support and living with family. Hierarchical regression analysis revealed that alcohol consumption, eating concern, and expression suppression positively predicted FAD, while social support and living with family were negative predictors. Conclusions Our results suggest that during the COVID-19 lockdown, preoccupation with eating and the use of expressive suppression may have increased vulnerability to FAD; conversely, perceived social support and living with family may have been a source of protection against this dysfunctional behavior. Level of evidence Level V, descriptive study.

One year of COVID-19 pandemic on patients with eating disorders, healthy sisters, and community women: evidence of psychological vulnerabilities

“…These correlations are consistent with the existing literature about trauma in EDs, the hypothesis being that they might be a mental escape from negative affects [49]. Interestingly, these data have been reported by different population studies as effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, even in the general population [50,51]. Moreover, while these elements have already been classified as fundamental by trauma-informed treatments, there is still work to be done in their integration into evidence-based treatments [52].…”

The Psychological Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Alcohol Abuse and Drunkorexia Behaviors in Young Adults

“…On this subscale, questions investigate the frequency with which compensatory behaviors are engaged around alcohol consumption episodes, with answers rated on a Likert-type scale ranging from 1 ( never ) to 5 ( always ). The DMBS has been shown to have good psychometric properties in the Italian context [ 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 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 , 47 , 48 , 49 , 50 , 51 , 52 , 53 ]. In the present study, the instrument showed high reliability (Cronbach’s alpha = 0.97).…”

“…These emotional issues may have had cascade effects on health risk behaviors, increasing the likelihood that young adults would develop alcohol-related problems and dysfunctional eating patterns, such as those associated with drunkorexia. The long-term psychological impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on drunkorexia behaviors has not yet been studied, despite recent evidence that maladaptive emotion regulation strategies significantly predicted drunkorexia behaviors during the lockdown [ 11 ]. Moreover, a trend of increased alcohol use during the pandemic [ 12 , 13 ] highlights the need to identify COVID-19–specific distress factors associated with alcohol abuse in order to better prevent and monitor these behaviors in the post-pandemic phase.…”

“…Research has shown that drunkorexia is very common among young adults and is mostly driven by a motivation to drink alcohol in order to cope [ 54 , 55 ]. Despite recent evidence of the pandemic’s role in contributing to an upsurge in eating disorders, drinking problems, and other negative psychological conditions [ 7 , 12 , 16 , 30 , 40 ], little is known about the impact of pandemic-related stress on drunkorexia behaviors [ 11 ]. However, recent studies have documented an association between drunkorexia, psychological distress, and emotion regulation difficulties [ 56 , 57 , 58 , 59 ].…”

The Covid‐19 pandemic and publishing in nutrition and dietetics

“…Although it is important to use scientific method to ask questions around this and quantify it, we do have to challenge whether this is useful science. A literature review shows that more than 150 papers were published on Covid-19 lockdown weight gain [6][7][8][9] and twice that number on changes in food intake. [10][11][12] Although these studies covered a wide range of population groups (Figure 1), they collectively reached the entirely obvious conclusion that pandemic restrictions were not conducive to the promotion of healthy lifestyles.…”