Stress and Eating Behaviors Pre- and Post COVID-19 Pandemic Declaration in Two Independent Samples of College-Aged Adults Original Research
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Keywords
Emotional eating, Psychological distress, Gender differences
Abstract
Introduction: This study compared stress and eating behaviors of two independent samples of college students before and after declaration of the COVID-19 pandemic to understand pandemic-related changes in these health-related behaviors.
Methods: This was a non-experimental comparative study using a between-subjects design. Two independent groups were invited to the laboratory for a single visit to measure eating behaviors and stress indicators. Four validated instruments were used in this study: The Weight and Lifestyle Inventory questionnaire, Mindfulness Eating Questionnaire, Three-Factor Eating Questionnaire (TFEQ), and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS). Independent t-tests and two-way ANOVA were used to compare participants who were tested prior to the COVID-19 pandemic declaration and after.
Results: N=151 (n=81 male, n=70 female) participants completed testing in the pre-COVID group, and a separate group, N=79, completed testing in the post-COVID group (n=40 male and n=26 female). There was a significant difference in TFEQ-uncontrolled eating between groups by sex (F(1,207)=4.73, p =.031, ƞ2=.022). There were differences between the pre-COVID and post-COVID groups (F(1,204)=5.64, p 019, ƞ2=.027) and between sexes (F(1,204)=16.84, p <0.001, ƞ2=.076) on the TFEQ-emotional eating. The post-COVID group reported higher levels of eating when stressed, depressed/upset, anxious, and when alone compared to the pre-COVID group (all p <.05). There were sex differences in eating when stressed, depressed/upset, anxious, and when alone (all p <.05). PSS scores were significantly higher in the post-COVID group (p =.003). Females (20.4±5.4) reported higher stress than males (17.8±6.3) (p =.003).
Conclusions: College students assessed after the pandemic declaration showed higher stress levels and emotional eating scores. Female college students reported higher stress and emotional eating levels than males.
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