COVID-19 disease and nutritional choices: How will the pandemic reconfigure our food psychology and habits? A case study of the Italian population

An insight into market and non-market alternative food networks in Czechia during Covid-19 and beyond

Introduction

The Covid-19 pandemic affected food systems in many countries and emphasized a lot of already existing social, economic and environmental agri-food problems. Alternative food networks (AFNs), praised for their ability to improve the food systems, were under stress, however, at the same time, the changed conditions may have opened new possibilities. In this paper we address the importance of AFNs during the pandemic and investigate how households have changed their participation in AFNs. Our research is novel by simultaneously focusing on both market and non-market AFNs which are often studied separately.

Methods

A representative questionnaire study of Czech households was carried out in Autumn 2021 to provide a case study of food and consumption behavior of the European country after several waves of Covid-19.

Results and discussion

Based on the responses of 515 participants, the results show that 68% of Czech households participate in some form of AFNs, be it shopping or food self-provisioning, i.e., non-market food procurement in the form of gardening. Focusing on the market AFNs, farmers' markets and farm gate sales are the most popular. Covid-19 and 2021 emerging economic pressures led to a decrease of consumption of organic food (22% of respondents) as well as fresh fruit and vegetables in general (10% of respondents) and a noticeable occurrence of food insecurity (18% of households). Based on these findings, the paper discusses the ability of AFNs to support food and nutritional resilience. Problems which may endanger market-oriented AFNs are discussed as well.

Conclusion

By addressing both market and non-market AFNs, the paper brings new knowledge into the food environment and agri-food policies research.

Nutritional changes during the COVID-19 pandemic: a rapid scoping review on the impact of psychological factors

COVID-19 and the resulting measures to curb the spread of the virus have significantly changed our lives, including our nutritional choices. In this rapid scoping review an overview is provided of what psychological factors may be associated with peoples' eating behaviour during COVID-19 restrictions. Relevant literature was identified using PubMed, PsycInfo, CINAHL and MEDLINE databases from 2019 onwards. For included studies, information on study characteristics, eating behaviours, and psychological factors were extracted. 118 articles were included, representing 30 countries. Findings indicated that most people consumed more and unhealthy food in times of COVID-19 restrictions, while some consumed less but often for the wrong reasons. Several psychological factors, related to (1) affective reactions, (2) anxiety, fear and worriers, (3) stress and (4) subjective and mental wellbeing were found to be associated with this increase in food consumption. These outcomes may help to be better inform future interventions, and with that, to be better prepared in case of future lockdown scenarios.

Usage of nutritional supplements to improve immunity during the COVID-19 pandemic: an online survey

Background and aims

Proper nutrition to optimise immune function is mandatory as at present there is no specific medicine to cure COVID-19. Our study aimed to investigate the use of nutritional supplements and their key immunity enhancing components among Sri Lankans.

Methods

This current study was an online survey conducted during the period from 27^th May to 2^nd June 2021 disseminated via various social media platforms. Details were collected on highlighting the frequency and composition of nutritional supplements consumed.

Results

In a total of 3707 responders, a proportion of 25.5% (944) of the participants took supplements regularly, and 32.6% (1210), 14.5% (538), 27.4% (1015) intake were occasionally, rarely and never respectively. Older participants (>40 years of age) had a significantly higher intake of supplements than the younger counterpart of 31–35 years age group (OR: 0.604; 95% CI, 0.451–0.809; p < 0.001). Almost half (46.0%) took vitamin C supplements and females tend to take more (OR: 1.325; 95% CI, 1.120–1.567; p < 0.001) of vitamin C when compared to males. Comparatively to the other groups regarding monthly income, the participants with the highest income category are more likely to take vitamin D (OR:1.899; 95% CI, 1.034–3.490; p = 0.039) and multivitamin (OR: 3.222; 95% CI, 1.737–5.977; p < 0.001). The most commonly used main ingredient in home-made remedy was coriander in Sri Lanka.

Conclusion

The use of nutritional supplements and natural products to improve immunity during the pandemic were frequent among Sri Lankan adults. In general, older, female gender and high income was significantly associated with increased intake of the nutrient supplements.

Ethnocentrism Effects on Consumers’ Behavior during COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has upset everyone’s normal daily activities, generating psychiatric disorders and changing consumers’ preferences. Among others, the agri-food sector has experienced strong changes and, during the lockdown period, Italian consumers modified their purchasing habits in response to the fear and uncertainty generated by the spread of the virus. In order to find out the main consequences of the shock suffered during the period and to understand which factors have affected purchasing choices, an online survey was conducted on 286 Italian consumers. The results show that ethnocentrism has been the factor that most has influenced consumers’ behavior during the lockdown period and that consumers will continue to prefer national agri-food products when pandemic will be over, constituting a deep change to future eating habits.

Has COVID-19 Changed the Lifestyle and Dietary Habits in the Spanish Population after Confinement?

Since 2020, the world has been immersed in a change in lifestyle (social, lifestyle, nutri-tion and physical activity patterns), due to the appearance of COVID-19 and the strict mobility measures which were implemented to prevent its spread. All these changes had a nutritional impact on people, modifying their dietary guidelines. This cross-sectional study was carried out to assess whether dietary habits, lifestyle, and adherence to the Mediterranean diet among the Spanish adult population (25-65 years old) during confinement was modified during the post-confinement period, using an e-survey through social networks, involving 510 subjects. A decrease in the intake of ultra-processed products, with a correlation between weekly food delivery orders at home and the consumption of salty snacks, sugary drinks, and processed pastries was also recorded. Most of the subjects performed physical exercise on a regular basis, maintaining the body weight in half of the participants. During the post-confinement period a substantial proportion of the population had healthy lifestyle and dietary habits, including the adequate consumption of fruits, vegetables and legumes; adequate time was spent preparing meals and the population did not regularly order food at home, which in the long term, reduced the risk of several diseases.

Tracking metabolic responses based on macronutrient consumption: A comprehensive study to continuously monitor and quantify dual markers (cortisol and glucose) in human sweat using WATCH sensor

Wearable Awareness Through Continuous Hidrosis (WATCH) sensor is a sweat based monitoring platform that tracks cortisol and glucose for the purpose of understanding metabolic responses related to macronutrient consumption. In this research article, we have demonstrated the ability of tracking these two biomarkers in passive human sweat over a workday period (8 h) for 10 human subjects in conjunction with their macronutrient consumption. The validation of the WATCH sensor performance was carried out via standard reference methods such as Luminex and ELISA This is a first demonstration of a passive sweat sensing technology that can detect interrelated dual metabolites, cortisol, and glucose, on a single sensing platform. The significance of detecting the two biomarkers simultaneously is that capturing the body's metabolic and endocrinal responses to dietary triggers can lead to improved lifestyle management. For sweat cortisol, we achieved a detection limit of 1 ng/ml (range ∼1-12.5 ng/ml) with Pearson's "r" of 0.897 in reference studies and 0.868 in WATCH studies. Similarly, for sweat glucose, we achieved a detection limit of 1 mg/dl (range ∼ 1-11 mg/dl) with Pearson's "r" of 0.968 in reference studies and 0.947 in WATCH studies, respectively. The statistical robustness of the WATCH sensor was established through the Bland-Altman analysis, whereby the sweat cortisol and sweat glucose levels are comparable to the standard reference method. The probability distribution (t-test), power analysis (power 0.82-0.87), α = 0.05. Mean absolute relative difference (MARD) outcome of ˷5.10-5.15% further confirmed the statistical robustness of the sweat sensing WATCH device output.

Monitoring Consumer Purchasing Behavior for Wood Furniture before and during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Monitoring consumer buying behaviors in terms of their preferences and attitudes has been known as an important driver for the success and development of various industries, including a wood furniture manufacturing. The aim of this study was to identify and compare the purchasing behaviors of furniture consumers in the period before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Two surveys were conducted in Croatia, the first in April and May 2020 with the assumption that consumer purchasing behaviors will change during the COVID-19 pandemic in the following year and the second one during March 2021. Differences regarding consumer purchasing behaviors and preferences for wood furniture between respondents regarding demographic and economic factors before and during the pandemic were found. The coronavirus pandemic is teaching us all hard lessons about resilience and adaptability, and new opportunities and solutions are essential. Nowadays, it is becoming increasingly important to produce information. Research offers insights into future design and building communication to better meet the information needs of different types of consumers and to more broadly increase the acceptance and appeal of wood furniture in society in the spirit of sustainable and bio-based circular economy.

What Have We Learned about the Effects of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Consumer Behavior?

Background: This study aims to examine how behavioral variables interact with and stimulate purchasing decisions and influence the process of purchasing healthy foods during the COVID-19 pandemic. Method: Principal component analysis was carried out on a sample of 100 consumers of healthy foods in Saudi Arabia, and this made it possible to adapt the items to the context of the study. Exploratory and confirmatory analysis with 360 people was carried out. Confirmatory factor analysis provided reliable and valid scales, and multivariate analysis using structural equations and binary logistic regressions made it possible to validate the hypotheses. Results: The intention to buy increased among consumers of healthy foods. Women were more anxious about the COVID-19 pandemic than men, and they took considerable precautions to avoid contamination. The fear of COVID-19 was also more intense among the elderly population than younger people. The respondents indicated reduced visits to shops, restaurants, and markets. Gender and age moderated the relationship between the fear of COVID-19 and purchasing intention. Consumption risk also negatively affected purchasing intention. However, buying experiences and intention to buy led to increased purchases of healthy foods compared to other goods.

Use of vitamin/zinc supplements, medicinal plants, and immune boosting drinks during COVID-19 pandemic: A pilot study from Benha city, Egypt

BACKGROUND

The COVID-19 infection is characterized by a wide spectrum of severity that ranges from mild to severe lethal symptoms. The optimal status of vitamins and minerals in the body is important to maintain proper immune response to overcome infections including COVID-19. Certain foods and medicinal plants have been shown to boost the immune system.

OBJECTIVES

In the current study, the use of vitamin and zinc supplements, medicinal plants, honey, garlic, and immune-boosting drinks among Egyptian living in Benha city were investigated during the corona pandemic.

METHODS

An online questionnaire was distributed through Google forms. A total of 301 adult participants (age range: 18-82) from Benha city, Egypt were included in the study. The Chi2 goodness of fit test was used to determine the differences in the distribution of the participant responses.

RESULTS

The use of vitamin C and D were reported by 27% and 17.7% of participants. About one-third of participants reported the use of immune-boosting drinks, honey, and garlic during the pandemic to strengthen the body immunity. The use of Zingiber officinale and Curcuma longa was reported by 47.2% and 31.6% respectively. Concerning zinc supplements, only 5.6% of the sample reported using it during the pandemic. The use of examined nutrients was found to be associated with age (P < 0.05) and the fear score from the virus (P < 0.05), but not with other factors such as sex, income, and educational level.

CONCLUSION

The uses of supplements, medicinal plants, and immune-boosting drinks to strengthen the immune system during the pandemic were common among the participants. The present findings may help comprehend some health practices related to the COVID-19 pandemic that might be considered by health policymakers.