Dietary consumption of middle-aged adults and older people before and during the pandemic

Abstract

Introduction and objective: The COVID-19 pandemic impacted on people's lifestyle habits, affecting eating behaviors. The objective was to compare the food consumption of middle-aged and older adults before and during the pandemic, and to identify the sociodemographic and health factors associated with significant changes in this consumption. Materials and methods: Quantitative and longitudinal study, with 200 participants aged 45 years or over, registered in Primary Care in Três Lagoas, Mato Grosso do Sul. Sociodemographic and health characterization was carried out and markers of a healthy diet were evaluated (regular consumption of fruit, beans and vegetables) and unhealthy (regular consumption of sweets and soft drinks), before (2018/2019) and during the pandemic (2021). The McNemar test and regression models were used in the analyses. Results: The majority of the sample was female, older adult, with partner and with more than four years of education. When comparing the two assessments, there was no difference in the prevalence of regular consumption of beans (66.0% and 66.0%) and fruits (43.5% and 45.5%). Regular consumption of vegetables showed a significant increase, from 45.5% to 57.0%. The unhealthy diet markers did not show a significant difference, being 22.5% and 18.5% for regular consumption of soft drinks, and 21.0% and 21.5% for sweets. Having more than four years of education reduced the risk of increasing vegetable consumption and having depressive symptoms increased the risk of increasing this consumption. Conclusion: An increase in the prevalence of vegetable consumption was identified, especially in participants with less education and with depressive symptoms.