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Eating habits during quarantine: Investigating the role of emotions and loneliness in a sample of adults in Greece

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 September 2022

N. Savvopoulou ,
K. Assimakopoulos ,
P. Gourzis  and
E. Jelastopulu
N. Savvopoulou*
Affiliation:
UNIVERSITY OF PATRAS, Department Of Public Health, Medical School, PATRAS, Greece
K. Assimakopoulos
Affiliation:
UNIVERSITY OF PATRAS, Department Of Psychiatry, Medical School, PATRAS, Greece
P. Gourzis
Affiliation:
General University Hospital of Patras, Greece, Department Of Psychiatry, Patras, Greece
E. Jelastopulu
Affiliation:
School of Medicine, University of Patras, Public Health, Rio, Greece
*
*Corresponding author.

Abstract

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Introduction

Imposing quarantine as a measure to manage the coronavirus pandemic is a stressful event that is often associated with negative psychological effects. Eating habits seemed to be significantly affected during the quarantine, while strong negative emotions were triggered as the feeling of loneliness increased at the same time.

Objectives

This study aims to investigate the eating habits of individuals during quarantine and the role of positive and negative emotions and loneliness in shaping these habits.

Methods

An online cross-sectional study was performed using 3 validated scales, EAT-26 (3 subscales: Dieting, Bulimia and Food Preoccupation, Oral Control), Modified Differential Emotions Scale and UCLA Loneliness Scale. Data was collected between April and May 2021 mainly from social media platforms. Statistical analyses included linear regression and mediation analyses.

Results

Abnormal eating habits were detected in 25% of the participants (N= 450, ages 18-74) while the majority reported medium rates of negative/positive emotions and loneliness. Female sex is associated with abnormal eating habits (p=0.010) and mainly dietary behaviors (p=0.029). Negative emotions (p=0.032) and loneliness (p=0.001) seem to be predictive factors of eating habits in general and bulimic behaviors. Negative emotions correlate directly with eating habits. However, we found a significant mediation of loneliness (p=0.032). Furthermore, the observed association between negative emotions and bulimia is partly mediated by loneliness (p=0.018).

Conclusions

Negative emotions and loneliness seemed to play an important role in shaping eating habits during quarantine. Multilevel public health interventions are needed to address the negative effects of quarantine and pandemic in general.

Disclosure

No significant relationships.

Keywords

Lonelinessquarantineeating habitsEmotions
Type
Abstract
Information
European Psychiatry , Volume 65 , Special Issue S1: Abstracts of the 30th European Congress of Psychiatry , June 2022 , pp. S534
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2022. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the European Psychiatric Association
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