Nutrition and health during the first months of the COVID-19 in Italy: a qualitative study

Background. Nutrition plays a significant role in one’s health status; psychological factors, like stress and intense emotional experiences, can affect the quality of people's eating habits. This was particularly true in the last two pandemic years. The present study investigated how nutritional choices changed during the first COVID-19 lockdown in 2020, with the aim of better understanding the impact of the pandemic on eating habits, emotional experiences, and conviviality needs related to food. Methods. A semi-structured interview was administered to 42 subjects, aged between 20 and 65. A thematic analysis of elementary context was performed on the data, using T-LAB software, to identify the main themes of interest. Results. From the analysis, five theme clusters emerged: 1) emotional eating: changes of eating habits during stressful times; 2) food and socializing: the experience of sharing; 3) food and health: the importance of balanced nutrition; 4) food and home: how the lockdown has changed cooking habits and time spent on meals; 5) food and eating habits: organizing meals between home and the workplace. Discussions. Among the emerged themes, stress-related eating behaviors, the dimension of conviviality connected to nutrition, the awareness about healthy eating habits and the organization of meals during lockdown time were particularly relevant. The study highlighted the variations in the emotional, social, and practical experience of nutrition during the first phase of the pandemic in northern Italy. These findings contribute to increasing knowledge on nutrition as a health practice and could help plan interventions specifically targeting stress and emotional management.