Unhealthy Eating Habits due to Lockdown & how to overcome them

A Quick Guide

The Covid-19 lockdown has led to unhealthy changes in eating habits, including increased snacking, reduced consumption of fresh foods, and weight gain. To combat these habits, individuals can adopt coping strategies, increase physical activity, cook healthy meals, choose healthier snacks, develop new skills, and seek social support. Taking responsibility for one’s physical and mental health is crucial during these challenging times.

Introduction

As the deadly Coronavirus changed the lives of millions of people worldwide, the resulting lockdown has also caused a major change in eating habits among people. Ban on public gatherings, social events, and restrictions on travel became the new norm. Today, people are expected to stay inside their homes, adopt a new lifestyle and take safety measures. With all these changes happening, the overall mobility and dietary patterns of people seem to have suffered greatly.

Eating Habits during the Lockdown

Closure of the entire world meant the daily workout at gyms and leisure walks at parks were no longer an option. Grocery shopping became a field of battle, especially during the first wave. People resorted to piling stocks of food due to panic. Drive-through and home delivery became popular when food chains and favorite restaurants shut down.

Many people soothed themselves by turning to food during these periods of social isolation. Though the food may work as a short-term solution, it increases the risk of obesity and cardiovascular diseases especially when people are also physically inactive like at the present.  

Unhealthy Eating Habits during the Lockdown

During the lockdown, many people’s dietary patterns and food choices changed for the negative. Recent research found the following unhealthy changes in eating habits during this period:

• Increase in the number of meals consumed per day.
• Increase in snacking behavior.
• Reduction in consumption of fresh foods like fruits and vegetables
• The physical activity of many individuals decreased.
• Self-reported weight gain increased among multiple people. According to one study, 48% of 3533 people in Italy reported weight gain during the lockdown.
• Increase in alcohol consumption

What brought on these changes?

These changes may be due to a number of reasons. The most obvious perhaps may be the frustration and boredom due to a lack of routine. For many people, the lockdown meant working from home, studying from home, and thus a decrease in the number of activities per day. A lot of individuals may have started consuming food just for the sake of having something to do during the day.

Another factor is the ease of access to unhealthy food choices. For instance, pre-cooked snacks and foods with low cooking time are easier than preparing fresh and healthy food. Furthermore, the lockdown brought a huge increase in the trend of binge-watching streaming apps like Netflix and Hulu, etc, and munching snacks alongside them.

On top of it, if one is feeling anxious and stressed due to the current situation, comfort food acts as the best mood uplifter. Sadly, the most common comfort food tends to be the most unhealthy and obesity-inducing. For instance, who doesn’t like eating chocolates, ice creams, and large packets of chips, especially during those midnight cravings?

Food lovers alone cannot be blamed for everything, since the lockdown also meant that access to healthy food was limited. The prices had also skyrocketed. Those who wanted to go for a walk or to the gym were stuck at their homes. Likewise, this situation did not make being motivated an easy task either. Many people experienced relapses in their respective mental health issues, which was an added obstacle in the way of healthy practices.

What to do next?

While the pandemic of covid-19 has been hard on all of us, the responsibility to preserve our physical and mental health lies on us. Now that many countries across the world are administering covid vaccinations, the lockdown is being lifted, and things are slowly getting back to normal, it is time for damage control. Following are some suggestions for replacing unhealthy eating habits with healthier alternatives:

1. Adopt coping strategies alternative to food.

Replace comfort food-eating with other stress-releasing activities, to cope with the distress of the lockdown. This includes meditation, mindfulness, breathing exercises, and so on. One can even schedule an appointment with a therapist to process these distressing emotions.

2. Set daily targets for increasing physical activity.

Working individuals can try to increase their physical activity by setting a target of 10,000 steps or more in their fitness band or mobile apps and set daily reminders to move around after long periods of inactivity.

3. Overcome boredom and release stress by cooking healthy meals.

Individuals can experiment with different ingredients to make healthy, nutritious meals at home.

4. Replace Snacks with healthier options.

Replace binge eating of snacks with healthier options like popcorn, vegetables, fruit platters, etc, while watching TV shows.

5. Develop new skills.

In case of continued lockdown in your country, try using this period as an opportunity to develop new habits like reading, gardening, learning to play an instrument, etc.

6. Access social support.

When things get a bit too overwhelming, access support from friends and family.

The changes in eating habits during the Covid-19 lockdown cannot be denied. But while it is easy to resort to comfort food and a sedentary lifestyle in the current circumstances, its impact on health, in the long run, is major. It is important to try and adopt alternative coping strategies to continue with a healthy lifestyle.