How has the strict lockdown during the SARS-COV-2 outbreak changed the diet of Spaniards?
Author
Mora, Toni
Fichera, Eleonora
Lopez-Valcarcel, Beatriz G.
Publication date
2023ISSN
2352-8273
Abstract
Purpose: We investigate the impact of a specific macroeconomic shock that occurred as a response to the SARS-COV-2 outbreak, namely the strict lockdown imposed in Spain on the March 14, 2020. Methods: We use fortnightly purchase data relating to over 50,000 households from a supermarket chain in Catalonia from March to June in 2019 and 2020. Using a panel data approach, we analyse the impact of the lockdown on the caloric content, sugar composition, and alcohol content in beverages and food purchases bought before and after lockdown. We corrected our results to take into account the likelihood of stockpiling. Results: The lockdown is related to an increase in unhealthy beverage and food purchases. We find heterogeneous effects across groups of the sample based on cardholder characteristics. Families with children or babies and those in the upper two income quintiles had the unhealthiest changes. As the lockdown went through phases of relaxation, households made better food decisions but maintained unhealthy beverage choices. Conclusions: The very restrictive lockdown negatively impacted the characteristics of food and beverage purchases made by Spaniards. However, we are unsure whether there was substitution to restaurant and bar visits. Additional work to find out whether there were permanent changes in purchasing behaviour after lockdown ended is needed in the future.
Document Type
Article
Document version
Published version
Language
English
Subject (CDU)
61 - Medical sciences
Keywords
Contingut nutricional
Dades longitudinals
Anàlisi abans-després
Brot de SARS-COV-2
Comportament de compra
Efectes heterogenis
Contenido nutricional
Datos longitudinales
Análisis antes-después
Brote de SARS-COV-2
Comportamiento de compra
Efectos heterogéneos
Nutritional content
Longitudinal data
Before-after analysis
SARS-COV-2 outbreak
Purchasing behaviour
Heterogeneous effects
Pages
6
Publisher
Elsevier
Collection
24
Is part of
SSM - Population Health
Citation
Mora, Toni; Fichera, Eleonora; Lopez-Valcarcel, Beatriz G. How has the strict lockdown during the SARS-COV-2 outbreak changed the diet of Spaniards? SSM - Population Health, 2023, 24, 101512. Disponible en: <https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2352827323001775?via%3Dihub>. Fecha de acceso: 3 nov. 2023. DOI: 10.1016/j.ssmph.2023.101512
This item appears in the following Collection(s)
- Ciències de la Salut [740]
Rights
© 2023 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY-NC-ND license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/bync-nd/4.0/).
Except where otherwise noted, this item's license is described as https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0/