Food system factors associated with change in body weight during the pandemic
| Variables | Category | Lost weight | No change | Gained weight | P value† |
| n (%) | n (%) | n (%) | |||
| External domain | |||||
| Reduced food availability | |||||
| Fish and seafood | Yes | 77 (29.2) | 80 (29.4) | 54 (34.2) | 0.501 |
| No | 187 (70.8) | 192 (70.6) | 104 (65.8) | ||
| Poultry meat | Yes | 11 (4.2) | 7 (2.6) | 8 (5.1) | 0.382 |
| No | 253 (95.8) | 265 (97.4) | 150 (94.9) | ||
| Eggs | Yes | 9 (3.4) | 5 (1.8) | 7 (4.4) | 0.286 |
| No | 255 (96.6) | 267 (98.2) | 151 (95.6) | ||
| Dairy | Yes | 16 (6.1) | 22 (8.1) | 14 (8.9) | 0.51 |
| No | 248 (93.9) | 250 (91.9) | 144 (91.1) | ||
| Cereals | Yes | 11 (4.2) | 11 (4.0) | 10 (6.3) | 0.502 |
| No | 253 (95.8) | 261 (96.0) | 148 (93.7) | ||
| Legumes and vegetables | Yes | 22 (8.3) | 26 (9.6) | 16 (10.1) | 0.802 |
| No | 242 (91.7) | 246 (90.4) | 142 (89.9) | ||
| Fruits | Yes | 77 (29.2) | 55 (20.2) | 36 (22.8) | 0.048* |
| No | 187 (70.8) | 217 (79.8) | 122 (77.2) | ||
| Vegetables | Yes | 66 (25.0) | 54 (19.9) | 36 (22.8) | 0.359 |
| No | 198 (75.0) | 218 (80.1) | 122 (77.2) | ||
| Tubers | Yes | 8 (3.0) | 7 (2.6) | 3 (1.9) | 0.778 |
| No | 256 (97.0) | 155 (98.1) | 155 (98.1) | ||
| Processed foods | Yes | 24 (9.1) | 14 (5.1) | 13 (8.2) | 0.193 |
| No | 240 (90.9) | 258 (94.9) | 145 (91.8) | ||
| Important feature of the place of purchase | |||||
| Order and cleanliness | Yes | 115 (72.8) | 191 (70.2) | 191 (72.3) | 0.804 |
| No | 43 (27.2) | 81 (29.8) | 73 (27.7) | ||
| Low influx of people | Yes | 106 (67.1) | 178 (65.4) | 176 (66.7) | 0.928 |
| No | 176 (66.7) | 94 (34.6) | 88 (33.3) | ||
| Affordable prices | Yes | 82 (51.9) | 117 (43.0) | 139 (52.7) | 0.055 |
| No | 76 (48.1) | 155 (57.0) | 125 (47.3) | ||
| Variety of food | Yes | 70 (44.3) | 111 (40.8) | 87 (33.0) | 0.043* |
| No | 88 (55.7) | 161 (59.2) | 177 (67.0) | ||
| Good location | Yes | 27 (17.1) | 37 (13.6) | 28 (10.6) | 0.161 |
| No | 131 (82.9) | 235 (86.4) | 236 (89.4) | ||
| Important food characteristic | |||||
| Nutritious | Yes | 135 (85.4) | 233 (85.7) | 193 (73.1) | 0.000** |
| No | 23 (14.6) | 39 (14.3) | 71 (26.9) | ||
| Fresh | Yes | 93 (58.9) | 171 (62.9) | 164 (62.1) | 0.699 |
| No | 65 (41.1) | 101 (37.1) | 100 (37.9) | ||
| Low risk of contamination | Yes | 84 (53.2) | 142 (52.2) | 160 (60.6) | 0.115 |
| No | 74 (46.8) | 130 (47.8) | 104 (39.4) | ||
| Quick to spoil | Yes | 61 (38.6) | 82 (30.1) | 108 (40.9) | 0.027* |
| No | 97 (61.4) | 190 (69.9) | 156 (59.1) | ||
| Low in fat | Yes | 31 (19.6) | 42 (15.4) | 36 (13.6) | 0.26 |
| No | 127 (80.4) | 230 (84.6) | 228 (86.4) | ||
| Tasty | Yes | 12 (7.6) | 26 (9.6) | 37 (14.0) | 0.084 |
| No | 146 (92.4) | 246 (90.4) | 227 (86.0) | ||
| Easy to prepare | Yes | 11 (7.0) | 24 (8.8) | 30 (11.4) | 0.3 |
| No | 147 (93.0) | 248 (91.2) | 234 (88.6) | ||
| Low/moderate in sugar | Yes | 21 (13.3) | 18 (6.6) | 9 (3.4) | 0.001** |
| No | 137 (86.7) | 254 (93.4) | 255 (96.6) | ||
| Low/moderate in salt | Yes | 7 (4.4) | 10 (3.7) | 7 (2.7) | 0.606 |
| No | 151 (95.6) | 262 (96.3) | 257 (97.3) | ||
| Accessibility | |||||
| Transport | On foot | 106 (67.1) | 188 (69.1) | 165 (62.5) | 0.259 |
| Vehicular means | 52 (32.9) | 84 (30.9) | 99 (37.5) | ||
| Internal domain | |||||
| Affordability | |||||
| Eating fewer meals per day | Yes | 25 (15.8) | 27 (9.9) | 21 (8.0) | 0.036* |
| No | 133 (84.2) | 245 (90.1) | 243 (92.0) | ||
| Eating less food | Yes | 51 (32.3) | 42 (15.4) | 36 (13.6) | 0.000** |
| No | 107 (67.7) | 230 (84.6) | 228 (86.4) | ||
| Eating cheaper foods | Yes | 36 (22.8) | 32 (11.8) | 45 (17.0) | 0.011* |
| No | 122 (77.2) | 240 (88.2) | 219 (83.0) | ||
| Skipping an important food | Yes | 48 (30.4) | 37 (13.6) | 63 (23.9) | 0.000** |
| No | 110 (69.6) | 235 (86.4) | 201 (76.1) | ||
| Convenience | |||||
| Prepared fried foods more frequently | Yes | 17 (10.8) | 32 (11.8) | 56 (21.2) | 0.002** |
| No | 141 (89.2) | 240 (88.2) | 208 (78.8) | ||
| Prepared salads more often | Yes | 66 (41.8) | 96 (35.3) | 59 (22.3) | 0.000** |
| No | 92 (58.2) | 176 (64.7) | 205 (77.7) | ||
| Most frequently prepared desserts | Yes | 20 (12.7) | 51 (18.8) | 67 (25.4) | 0.006** |
| No | 138 (87.3) | 221 (81.3) | 197 (74.6) | ||
| Reason for choosing preparations | |||||
| They are nutritious and healthy | Yes | 110 (69.6) | 186 (68.4) | 129 (48.9) | 0.000** |
| No | 48 (30.4) | 86 (31.6) | 135 (51.1) | ||
*Significant at the 0.05 level.**Significant at the 0.01 level.
†χ2 test of independence.