Changes in dietary markers during the covid-19 pandemic in Brazil

Evaluate changes in the Brazilian population's diet and its determinants during the covid-19 pandemic.

We used diet data collected by the Datafolha Institute in 2019 (n = 1,384), 2020 (n =1,214), and 2021 (n = 1,459) from independent and representative samples of the adult population (aged 18 to 55 years) from all socioeconomic classes and geographic regions of Brazil. Food consumption was measured by checking the consumption of 22 sets of food on the day before the survey. The third cycle also included questions about changes in eating habits during the pandemic. We estimated the prevalence of consumption of the food sets in each cycle of the survey and used statistical tests for comparisons of proportions between the three cycles.

Between 2019 and 2020, we observed a significant increase in the consumption of cereals, milk, packaged snacks or salty cookies, and industrialized sauces, as opposed to a decrease in the consumption of eggs. Between 2019 and 2021 and between 2020 and 2021, on the other hand, there was a significant decrease in the consumption of cereals, vegetables, fruits, and industrialized fruit juices and an increase in the consumption of soda, sweets, cookies, sausages, industrialized sauces, and ready meals. When asked about the main changes in the purchase and preparation of meals, 46.3% of the respondents reported consuming more food prepared at home during the pandemic. Regarding changes in eating habits, 48.6% of the respondents reported a change in their eating habits during the pandemic. The main reasons for such changes were greater concern with health (39.1%) and self-reported decreased family income (30.2%).

The covid-19 pandemic had a negative impact on the diet of the population, and increased consumption of ultra-processed foods was reported for that period.