Food consumption of academics at a university in the south of the country during the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Introduction: Social isolation during the COVID-19 pandemic directly impacted on the population's diet, the period at home may have contributed to the development of healthy eating habits. Objective: To evaluate the food consumption of academics during the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and methods: Cross-sectional study with a sample of 132 higher education students from a university in the city of Caxias do Sul-RS. Data collection was carried out in March 2021. The instrument used was an online questionnaire on Google Forms, where demographic, socioeconomic and anthropometric data were collected. Food consumption data were collected using the SISVAN food frequency questionnaire (2015). Consumption in the last seven days was considered, according to food groups: raw salad, cooked vegetables, fruits, beans, milk and yogurt, French fries or fried snacks, sausages, salty or sweet biscuits and soft drinks. Results and discussion: The sample had a mean age of 25.1 ± 7.6 years, the majority were female (88.6%) and single (75%). 34.1% of students consume raw salad daily, as well as 37.1% of fruits. 30.3% of the sample do not have the habit of consuming fried foods on any day of the week, as well as 47.7% of soft drinks. Conclusion: Daily consumption by students of raw salad, cooked vegetables, fruits, milk or yogurt was observed. Furthermore, most academics are not in the habit of consuming fried foods, sausages, snacks and soft drinks on any day of the week. Sweets are present in the students' diet on one or two days of the week.