Change in eating habits after 2 years of pandemic restrictions among adolescents living in a city in northern Italy: results of the COALESCENT Observational Study (Change amOng ItAlian adoLESCENTs)

Abstract

Background: Lockdown measures during the recent pandemic, due to the novel COVID-19, affected several other aspects of lifestyle, but little is known about their long-term impact, especially among adolescents. Our study aimed to assess the long-term consequences of changes in diet, exercise and screen activity levels, sleep quality, smoke, smartphone addiction and emotional distress among a sample of Italian adolescents, 2 years after the beginning of the pandemic.

Methods: We submitted an online survey to high-school students in the province of Brescia, a city in Northern Italy, investigating changes in food consumption and in physical and screen activities, cooking skills, sleep duration and quality, emotional distress, smartphone addiction and nutrition knowledge. We assigned an Eating Habit Index (EHI) score from 0 to 54, reflecting a current worsening (lower score) or improvement (higher score) in overall diet quality, compared with the pre-pandemic period. The χ² test or Fisher's exact probability test and Mann-Whitney test were used as appropriate; a binary logistic regression model was carried out, with EHI score≥33 as the dependent variable.

Results: We collected 1686 questionnaires. Consumption of healthy foods increased, as it was for ultraprocessed foods (UPFs). EHI score>33 (75° percentile value) was associated with female gender (OR 1.81, p<0.0001), better nutrition knowledge (OR 1.54, p=0.001), better cooking skills (OR 1.43, p=0.01), lower consumption of UPFs before the pandemic (OR 2.19, p<0.0001), self-perception of healthier diet quality (OR: 4.05, p<0.0001) and no smartphone addiction (OR: 1.35, p=0.02).

Conclusions: Considering the profound impact of lifestyle on both physical and mental health, our results could be relevant to understand how to promote healthy eating practices among young people.

Keywords: COVID-19; Dietary patterns.

Figure 1

Comparison before and during the pandemic period of: panel (A) eating behaviour; panel (B) food quantity consumption; panel (C) meal planning; panel (D) ultraprocessed food consumption.

Figure 2

Change in consumption of single foods among students reporting a variation, compared with the period before the pandemic. Panel (A) change in the consumption of healthy foods; panel (B) change in the consumption of unhealthy foods. The foods selected are the same as for the calculation of the Eating Habit Index. Numbers in line refer to the rates of students reporting a positive (at the right of zero) or a negative (at the left of zero) change in the consumption of the item reported in the column.

Figure 3

Comparison before and during the pandemic period of: panels (A) and (B), physical activity level; panel (C) sleep duration and quality; panel (D) use of digital devices and risk of addiction.