Diet quality and associated factors in Brazilian undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic

Liana L P Galvão; Thanise S S Santos; Betzabeth Slater; Clélia de O Lyra; Priscilla M Rolim; Alanderson A Ramalho; Tatiane Dalamaria; Fernanda Andrade Martins; Doroteia A Höfelmann; Sandra P Crispim; Bartira M Gorgulho; Paulo R M Rodrigues; Dirce M Marchioni; Bruna L L Maciel

doi:10.3389/fnut.2023.1169147

Diet quality and associated factors in Brazilian undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic

Front Nutr. 2023 May 24:10:1169147. doi: 10.3389/fnut.2023.1169147. eCollection 2023.

Authors

Liana L P Galvão¹, Thanise S S Santos^{2

3}, Betzabeth Slater⁴, Clélia de O Lyra¹, Priscilla M Rolim¹, Alanderson A Ramalho^{5

6}, Tatiane Dalamaria⁶, Fernanda Andrade Martins⁶, Doroteia A Höfelmann⁷, Sandra P Crispim⁷, Bartira M Gorgulho⁸, Paulo R M Rodrigues⁸, Dirce M Marchioni⁴, Bruna L L Maciel¹

Affiliations

¹ Health Sciences Postgraduate Program, Nutrition Department, Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, RN, Brazil.
² Nutrition Interventions Research Group, School of Nursing, Federal University of Minas Gerais, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil.
³ Faculty of Public Health, Center for Epidemiological Research in Nutrition and Health (NUPENS), University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
⁴ Nutrition Department, School of Public Health, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, SP, Brazil.
⁵ Graduate Program in Public Health, Federal University of Acre, Rio Branco, AC, Brazil.
⁶ Health and Sports Science Center, Nutrition Course, Federal University of Acre, Rio Branco, AC, Brazil.
⁷ Food and Nutrition Postgraduate Program, Nutrition Department, Federal University of Parana, Curitiba, PR, Brazil.
⁸ Department of Food and Nutrition, Federal University of Mato Grosso, Nutrition Faculty, Cuiabá, MT, Brazil.

Abstract

Background: Diet quality is associated with psychobiological, psychological, biological, and physiological factors of individuals, and in the context of prolonged stress, such as the COVID-19 pandemic, it can lead to a worsening of the quality of food for undergraduates. This study aimed to analyze diet quality and associated factors in Brazilian undergraduates.

Methods: Data were collected from 4,799 undergraduate students from all Brazilian regions, from August 2020 to February 2021. The online questionnaire contained socioeconomic variables, the ESQUADA scale to assess diet quality, self-referred changes in weight, the Brazilian food insecurity scale (EBIA), sleep assessment and the perceived stress scale. Unconditional multiple logistic regression analysis was performed to study variables associated with poor and very poor diet quality.

Results: Most of participants presented a good diet quality (51.7%), while 9.8% had a poor or very poor diet quality and only 1.1% had an excellent diet quality. 58.2% of undergraduates reported to have an increase in weight during the pandemic and 74.3% of the students presented elevated stress during the pandemic. Logistic regressions showed students who gained weight during the pandemic presented the highest AOR = 1.56 (95% CI = 1.12-2.20) for poor or very poor diet quality. The elevated perceived stress was also associated with a higher AOR = 2.85 (95% CI = 1.71-4.74) for poor or very poor diet quality.

Conclusion: Most of the studied undergraduates presented a good diet quality. Nevertheless, poor/very poor diet quality was associated with higher perceived stress and weight gain. Our study indicated that policies should beaimed at the socioeconomically most vulnerable undergraduates, those in a situation of food and nutritional insecurity, high perceived stress, and who gained weight during the pandemic.

Keywords: SARS-CoV-19; food security; nutrition; perceived stress; sleep assessment.