Effect of COVID-19 Lockdown on Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet Among Participants in a Health-Promotion Program

Abstract

Se presentan los resultados de la influencia de la pandemia sobre la adherencia a la dieta mediterránea

Mediterranean diet, characterized by being abundant in plant-based foods, rich in olive oil, and lower in saturated fat, meats, and dairy products has been associated with several health benefits such as reduced mortality and incidence of cardiovascular disease. Despite this evidence, adult population does not seem to display a high adherence to the dietary patterns proposed by this diet. On the other hand, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced most of the population to shift to working from home when possible and this might have well affected their dietary patterns. The aim of the present work is to analyze how adheren-ce to the Mediterranean diet among employees participating in a health-promotion program have been affected during lockdown due to the COVID-19 pandemic.Around 300 adults fulfilled validated questionnaires to measure their adherence to Mediterranean Diet both in October 2019 and May 2020. A series of χ2 tests were performed to test for any potential effects of the pandemic on Mediterranean diet-related variables. Results showed that working from home might have had a positive effect on Spanish employees’ adherence to the Me-diterranean Diet. More specifically, it seems that adults have been likely to in-crease their vegetables, fruit and legumes intake. Results are discussed in terms of working-from-home effects on healthy habits. The relevance of im-plementing programs to promote healthy behaviours is also discussed.