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. 2023 Jul 26;15(15):3326.
doi: 10.3390/nu15153326.

Changes in Food Consumption and Eating Behaviours of Children and Their Families Living in Italy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The EPaS-ISS Study

Paola Nardone  1 , Angela Spinelli  1 , Marta Buoncristiano  2 , Silvia Andreozzi  1 , Mauro Bucciarelli  1 , Marco Giustini  3 , Silvia Ciardullo  1 , On Behalf Of The EPaS-Iss Group
Affiliations

Changes in Food Consumption and Eating Behaviours of Children and Their Families Living in Italy during the COVID-19 Pandemic: The EPaS-ISS Study

Paola Nardone et al. Nutrients. .

Abstract

The aim of the EPaS-ISS study was to describe the changes in food consumption and eating behaviours of children (mainly aged 8-9 years) and their families between the pre-COVID-19 period (before February/March 2020) and the COVID-19 period (from February/March 2020 to April 2022). A web questionnaire completed by parents was used to collect data. The sociodemographic characteristics of the children and their parents were also explored through the web questionnaire. Seventeen regions out of nineteen and the two autonomous provinces (PA) of Italy participated in the study. The survey was completed for 4863 children (47.9% females). The study showed that only small changes in children's food consumption happened between the pre-COVID-19 period and the COVID-19 period; in particular, about 25% of parents reported an increase in savoury snacks and sweet food. A decrease in fruit and vegetable (about 8%) and fish (14%) consumption was also found. However, the changes seem to have mainly affected children from most disadvantaged families. The results also indicate positive changes during the COVID-19 pandemic in some families' eating behaviours, such as eating more home-cooked meals (42%) and family meals (39%), as well as cooking more with children (42%).

Keywords: COVID-19 pandemic; children; eating behaviours; family; food consumption.

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Conflict of interest statement

All authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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