COVID19 related food insecurity and eating behaviours that may promote weight gain : the mediating role of distress and eating to cope

Keenan, GS; Christiansen, P; Owen, LJ; Hardman, CA

Abstract

Food insecurity (a lack of stable access to nutritious food) is reliably associated with obesity, although the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Past research indicates that this relationship may, in part, be explained by the distress of being food insecure and subsequent eating to cope. The first UK COVID19 lockdown presented a unique opportunity to test if the same pathways existed for individuals experiencing acute disruption to their food supply (i.e., food shortages, difficulties accessing food stores). Adults in the United Kingdom (N = 222) recruited three months after the first lockdown, completed questionnaires on COVID-19 lockdown-related food insecurity, physical stress, psychological distress, eating to cope, drinking to cope, diet quality, and self-reported changes in eating behaviours that may promote weight gain (e.g. consuming larger portions). Structural equation modelling revealed that food insecurity was indirectly associated with changes in eating behaviour via distress and eating to cope. As such, individuals who experienced disruption to their food supply reported more distress; distress was associated with eating to cope and eating to cope with changes in eating behaviour. Food insecurity was also indirectly associated with diet quality, but this was via distress only. These findings demonstrate the importance of psychological mechanisms in the association between acute as well as chronic food insecurity and eating behaviour.

• Presentation Conference Type: Conference Paper (published)
• Conference Name: The British Feeding and Drinking Group (BFDG) 45th Annual Meeting
• Start Date: Mar 31, 2021
• End Date: Apr 1, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Sep 10, 2021
• Publication Date: Feb 1, 2022
• Deposit Date: Oct 12, 2021
• Journal: Appetite
• Print ISSN: 0195-6663
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Volume: 169
• Pages: 105509
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105509
• Publisher URL: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105509
• Related Public URLs: http://www.journals.elsevier.com/appetite
• Additional Information: Additional Information : ** Article version: AM ** Embargo end date: 31-12-9999 ** From Elsevier via Jisc Publications Router ** Licence for AM version of this article: This article is under embargo with an end date yet to be finalised. **Journal IDs: issn 01956663 **History: issued 10-09-2021; Access Information : This is a published conference abstract (not a full paper).; Event Type : Conference