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The Perceived Impact of COVID-19 on Comfort Food Consumption over Time: The Mediational Role of Emotional Distress.

Camila Salazar-FernándezDaniela PaletPaola A HaegerFrancisca Roman Mella
Published in: Nutrients (2021)
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on populations at an economic, health, and on an interpersonal level, it is still unclear how it has affected health-risk behaviors, such as comfort food consumption over time. This study longitudinally examines the effect of the perceived impact of COVID-19 on comfort food consumption and whether this effect is mediated by emotional distress. A convenience sample of 1048 students and university staff (academic and non-academic) from two universities completed monthly online surveys during the COVID-19 pandemic across six waves (W; W1 to W6). Participants reported their perceived impact of COVID-19 (economic, interpersonal, and health), comfort food consumption, and emotional distress (DASS-21). Using structural equation models, we found an indirect longitudinal effect of the perceived impact of COVID-19 (W1) on comfort food consumption (W3 to W6) through increased emotional distress (W2). The perceived negative impact of COVID-19 on comfort food consumption was fully mediated by the emotional distress during the first waves (W3 and W4), ending in a partial mediation in the last waves (W5 and W6). These findings contribute to disentangling the mechanisms by which the perceived impact of COVID-19 affects comfort food consumption over time, and highlight the role of emotional distress. Future interventions should address comfort food consumption by focusing on handling emotional distress during a crisis.
Keyphrases
  • coronavirus disease
  • sars cov
  • social support
  • mental health
  • human health
  • physical activity
  • depressive symptoms
  • public health
  • healthcare
  • health risk
  • risk assessment
  • health information
  • cross sectional
  • health promotion