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Social Inequalities in Changes in Diet in Adolescents during Confinement Due to COVID-19 in Spain: The DESKcohort Project.

F Xavier MedinaMarina Bosque-ProusHelena González-CasalsEster Colillas-MaletSusanna PuigcorbéLaura EsquiusAlbert Espelt
Published in: Nutrients (2021)
Adolescence is a critical period in the consolidation of healthy lifestyles that can last into adulthood. To analyze changes in food consumption and eating behaviors in high-school adolescents during the first confinement, a cross-sectional study was conducted at the end of confinement in Spain. Changes in the frequency or quantity of consumption of different types of food and food-related behaviors were analyzed. Socioeconomic and health-related variables were also considered. To determine whether dietary changes were related to socioeconomic position (SEP), Poisson regression models with robust variance were estimated. Overall, there were some changes towards a healthier diet such as an increase in fruit consumption (38.9%) and a decrease in the consumption of soft drinks (49.8%), sweets and pastries (39.3%), and convenience foods (49.2%). Some changes, however, were related to less healthy behaviors, such as a more irregular pattern of meal distribution (39.9%) or an increase in snacking between meals (56.4%). Changes towards less healthy eating were also related to students' SEP. The risk of worsening the diet was found to be 21% higher in adolescents from a more disadvantaged SEP. Future public policies could be adapted to avoid increasing nutritional and health inequalities.
Keyphrases
  • physical activity
  • weight loss
  • young adults
  • healthcare
  • public health
  • mental health
  • high school
  • depressive symptoms
  • human health
  • emergency department
  • risk factors
  • social media
  • current status