The studied sample had a medium-high level of education. Most of the subjects in the sample had college or high school education. Almost 70% reported doing some type of physical activity at home. With regard to BMI, at the time they responded to the questionnaire, women had mean values corresponding to normal weight, and men had mean values situated in the lower limit of overweight.
The prevalence of those affected by COVID-19 was approximately 13%, but only approximately 1% had to be hospitalized.
Eating behaviour
Table 2 shows the results of the comparison of the frequency of consumption of vegetables, fruits, pulses and dry fruits between men and women before and during lockdown.
The most common frequency of vegetable consumption both before and during lockdown was between 1 and 2 times and 3 or 4 times a week. Statistically significant differences were observed between women and men in the consumption of vegetables. In the categories of higher consumption (5 to 6 times/week and 1 or more times a day), there were more women than men both before and during lockdown. However, as seen in the table, men increased the frequency of consumption of vegetables during lockdown.
With regard to fruit, before confinement, most of the people consumed fruit 1 or 2 times/day. During lockdown, the majority remained in this category, but the percentage of people who consumed fruit more than 2 times per day increased.
Similar results were obtained for legumes; most people consumed them 1 or 2 times/week. However, during lockdown, the percentage of people who consumed them 3-4 times/week increased.
Table 2
Frequency of consumption of vegetables. Fruits. Pulses and dry fruits before and during lockdown by gender.
BEFORE LOCKDOWN | DURING LOCKDOWN | BEFORE/DURING (Kappa Test) |
Vegetables | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N (%) | Chi-square | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N (%) | Chi square | Women | Men | Total |
Never | 9 (1.1) | 7 (2.2) | 16 (1.4) | χ2 = 17.91 p=0.003 | 14 (1.6) | 9 (2.7) | 23 (1.9) | χ2 = 13.266 p= 0.021 | K= 0.613 p < 0.001 | K= 0.578 p < 0.001 | K= 0.607 p < 0.001 |
1-twice/week | 387 (44.1) | 161 (47.0) | 548 (44.9) | 356 (40.2) | 150 (44.2) | 506 (41.3) |
3-4 times/week | 193 (22.0) | 99 (28.8) | 292 (23.9) | 201 (22.7) | 92 (27.1) | 293 (23.9) |
5-6 times/week | 96 (11.0) | 30 (8.8) | 126 (10.4) | 105 (11.9) | 37 (10.9) | 142 (11.6) |
Once/day | 98 (10.8) | 25 (7.5) | 123 (9.9) | 105 (11.9) | 24 (7.1) | 129 (10.5) |
Twice or more/day | 94 (11.0) | 18 (5.6) | 112 (9.6) | 104 (11.8) | 27 (8.0) | 131 (10.7) |
Fruits | χ2 = 5.544 p= 0.353 | | χ2 = 2.108 P= 0.834 | K= 0.634 p < 0.001 | K= 0.631 p < 0.001 | K= 0.631 p < 0.001 |
Never | 34 (4.0) | 11 (3.5) | 45 (3.9) | 34 (3.9) | 17 (5.0) | 51 (4.2) |
1-twice/week | 325 (38.4) | 106 (33.9) | 431 (37.2) | 308 (35.0) | 121 (35.8) | 429 (35.3) |
3-4 times/week | 110 (13.0) | 49 (15.7) | 159 (13.7) | 124 (14.1) | 42 (12.4) | 166 (13.6) |
5-6 times/week | 62 (7.3) | 33 (10.5) | 95 (8.2) | 78 (8.9) | 30 (8.9) | 108 (8.9) |
Once/day | 131 (15.5) | 48 (15.3) | 179 (15.4) | 130 (14.8) | 44 (13.0) | 174 (14.3) |
Twice or more/day | 185 (21.8) | 66 (21.1) | 251 (21.6) | 205 (23.3) | 84 (24.9) | 289 (23.7) |
Pulses | | χ2 = 6.735 p= 0.241 | | χ2 = 8.177 p= 0.147 | K= 0.490 p < 0.001 | K= 0.552 p < 0.001 | K= 0.509 p < 0.001 |
Never | 40 (4.6) | 14 (4.2) | 54 (4.5) | 42 (4.8) | 19 (5.7) | 61 (5.0) |
1-twice/week | 679 (77.3) | 244 (72.8) | 923 (76.1) | 589 (66.9) | 204 (61.1) | 793 (65.3) |
3-4 times/week | 126 (14.4) | 62 (18.5) | 188 (15.5) | 196 (22.2) | 96 (28.7) | 292 (24.0) |
5-6 times/week | 24 (2.7) | 12 (3.6) | 36 (3.0) | 39 (4.4) | 11 (3.3) | 50 (4.1) |
Once/day | 4 (0.5) | 3 (0.9) | 7 (0.6) | 11 (1.2) | 4 (1.2) | 15 (1.2) |
Twice or more/day | 5 (0.6) | 0 (0.0) | 5 (0.4) | 4 (0.5) | 0 (0.0) | 4 (0.3) |
Nuts | | χ2 = 7.343 p= 0.196 | | χ2 = 3.307 p= 0.653 | K= 0.487 p < 0.001 | K= 0.530 p < 0.001 | K= 0.503 p < 0.001 |
Never | 231 (26.4) | 64 (19.6) | 295 (24.5) | 198 (22.7) | 65 (19.5) | 263 (21.8) |
1-twice/week | 423 (48.3) | 174 (53.2) | 597 (49.7) | 405 (46.4) | 162 (48.5) | 567 (47.0) |
3-4 times/week | 106 (12.1) | 48 (14.7) | 154 (12.8) | 130 (14.9) | 47 (14.1) | 177 (14.7) |
5-6 times/week | 34 (3.9) | 13 (4.0) | 47 (3.9) | 48 (5.5) | 25 (7.5) | 73 (6.0) |
Once/day | 65 (7.4) | 21 (6.4) | 86 (7.2) | 77 (8.8) | 28 (8.4) | 105 (8.7) |
Twice or more/day | 16 (1.8) | 7 (2.1) | 23 (1.9) | 15 (1.7) | 7 (2.1) | 22 (1.8) |
Regarding the consumption of nuts, the highest percentage was found in the 1-2 times/week category, but during lockdown, the percentage of people who consumed nuts
3-4 times/week, 5-6 times/week and even 1 time per day increased.
For the consumption of fruits, legumes and nuts, no statistically significant differences were observed between men and women.
Regarding the concordance between the frequency of consumption before and during lockdown, the kappa coefficient values indicate moderate to good concordance; that is, the consumption pattern was largely maintained for all the foods listed in the table.
Table 3 shows the results of the frequency of consumption of foods of animal origin, the comparison between women and men and the comparison before and during confinement.
Most of the people ate meat between 1-2 times and 3-4 times/week. The frequencies before and during lockdown were similar.
The same was found for the consumption of fish, except that during confinement, the percentage of people who never consumed it increased and the percentage of people who consumed it 5-6 times/week increased as well.
During lockdown, the percentage of people who consumed eggs 5-6 times/week and once a day increased.
Statistically significant differences were observed between men and women only for the consumption of eggs. Before lockdown, there was a higher percentage of men than women who ate eggs once a day or more. For meat and fish, no statistically significant differences were observed between men and women.
Again, regarding the concordance between the frequency of consumption before and during lockdown, the Kappa coefficient showed moderate-to-good agreement, which indicates that the consumption pattern was maintained. This was found for all foods in the table.
Table 3
Frequency of consumption of foods of animal origin before and during lockdown by gender.
BEFORE LOCKDOWN | DURING LOCKDOWN | BEFORE/DURING (Kappa Test) |
Meat | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N (%) | Chi square | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N (%) | Chi square | Women | Men | Total |
Never | 47 (5.3) | 12 (3.6) | 59 (4.9) | χ2 = 3.996 p= 0.550 | 44 (5.0) | 15 (4.5) | 59 (4.9) | χ2 = 5.946 p= 0.312 | K= 0.675 p < 0.001 | K= 0.718 p < 0.001 | K= 0.686 p < 0.001 |
1-twice/week | 355 (40.2) | 134 (40.1) | 489 (40.2) | 356 (40.6) | 122 (36.2) | 478 (39.4) |
3-4 times/week | 290 (32.9) | 123 (36.8) | 413 (34.0) | 282 (32.2) | 124 (36.8) | 406 (33.4) |
5-6 times/week | 125 (14.2) | 39 (11.7) | 164 (13.5) | 127 (14.5) | 41 (12.2) | 168 (13.8) |
Once/day | 55 (6.2) | 21 (6.3) | 76 (6.3) | 56 (6.4) | 28 (8.3) | 84 (6.9) |
Twice or more/day | 10 (1.1) | 5 (1.5) | 15 (1.2) | 12 (1.4) | 7 (2.1) | 19 (1.6) |
Fish | | χ2 = 1.241 p= 0.941 | | χ2 = 5.237 p= 0.388 | K= 0.612 p < 0.001 | K= 0.602 p < 0.001 | K= 0.604 p < 0.001 |
Never | 67 (7.6) | 25 (7.4) | 92 (7.5) | 79 (9.0) | 26 (7.7) | 105 (8.6) |
1-twice/week | 558 (63.3) | 214 (63.5) | 772 (63.3) | 513 (58.3) | 203 (59.9) | 716 (58.7) |
3-4 times/week | 209 (23.7) | 84 (24.9) | 293 (24.0) | 223 (25.3) | 90 (26.5) | 313 (25.7) |
5-6 times/week | 36 (4.1) | 11 (3.3) | 47 (3.9) | 52 (5.9) | 17 (5.0) | 69 (5.7) |
Once/day | 11 (1.2) | 3 (0.9) | 14 (1.1) | 13 (1.5) | 2 (0.6) | 15 (1.2) |
Twice or more/day | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.3) | 1 (0.1) |
Eggs | | χ2 = 11.634 p= 0.040 | | χ2 = 18.329 p= 0.003 | K= 0.671 p < 0.001 | K= 0.663 p < 0.001 | K= 0.664 p < 0.001 |
Never | 14 (1.6) | 7 (2.1) | 21 (1.7) | 18 (2.0) | 8 (2.4) | 26 (2.1) |
1-twice/week | 518 (59.2) | 205 (61.6) | 723 (59.9) | 484 (54.9) | 175 (51.6) | 659 (54.0) |
3-4 times/week | 269 (30.7) | 84 (25.2) | 353 (29.2) | 256 (29.0) | 121 (35.7) | 377 (30.9) |
5-6 times/week | 63 (7.2) | 24 (7.2) | 87 (7.2) | 98 (11.1) | 18 (5.3) | 116 (9.5) |
Once/day | 9 (1.0) | 11 (3.3) | 20 (1.7) | 24 (2.7) | 13 (3.8) | 37 (3.0) |
Twice or more/day | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.6) | 4 (0.3) | 2 (0.2) | 4 (1.2) | 6 (0.5) |
Table 4
Frequency of consumption of dairy products before and during confinement by gender.
BEFORE LOCKDOWN | DURING LOCKDOWN | BEFORE/DURING (Kappa Test) |
Milk | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N (%) | Chi-square | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N (%) | Chi square | Women | Men | Total |
Never | 90 (10.4) | 38 (11.3) | 128 (10.6) | χ2 = 3.726 p= 0.590 | 96 (11.0) | 42 (12.4) | 138 (11.4) | χ2 = 2.252 p= 0.813 | K= 0.753 p < 0.001 | K= 0.780 p < 0.001 | K=0.759 p < 0.001 |
1-twice/week | 270 (31.1) | 97 (29.0) | 367 (30.5) | 264 (30.2) | 93 (27.4) | 357 (29.4) |
3-4 times/week | 57 (6.6) | 24 (7.2) | 81 (6.7) | 60 (6.9) | 25 (7.4) | 85 (7.0) |
5-6 times/week | 48 (5.5) | 27 (8.1) | 75 (6.2) | 56 (6.4) | 26 (7.7) | 82 (6.8) |
Once/day | 268 (30.9) | 103 (30.7) | 371 (30.8) | 261 (29.8) | 105 (31.0) | 366 (30.1) |
Twice or more/day | 135 (15.6) | 46 (13.7) | 181 (15.0) | 138 (15.8) | 48 (14.2) | 186 (15.3) |
Yoghurt | | χ2 = 9.266 p= 0.099 | | χ2 = 7.166 p= 0.209 | K= 0.702 p < 0.001 | K= 0.650 p < 0.001 | K= 0.689 p < 0.001 |
Never | 151 (17.4) | 51 (15.7) | 202 (17.0) | 154(17.8) | 56 (16.9) | 210 (17.6) |
1-twice/week | 356 (41.1) | 124 (38.2) | 480 (40.3) | 323(37.4) | 120 (36.3) | 443 (37.1) |
3-4 times/week | 88 (10.2) | 49 (15.1) | 137 (11.5) | 104(12.1) | 47 (14.2) | 151 (12.6) |
5-6 times/week | 58 (6.7) | 29 (8.9) | 87 (7.3) | 63 (7.3) | 29 (8.8) | 92 (7.7) |
Once/day | 161 (18.6) | 59 (18.2) | 220 (18.5) | 157(18.2) | 67 (20.2) | 224 (18.8) |
Twice or more/day | 52 (6.0) | 13 (4.0) | 65 (5.5) | 62 (7.2) | 12 (3.6) | 74 (6.2) |
Cheese | | χ2 = 13.397 p= 0.020 | | χ2 = 10.205 p= 0.070 | K= 0.615 p < 0.001 | K= 0.683 p < 0.001 | K= 0.636 p < 0.001 |
Never | 98 (11.3) | 25 (7.6) | 123 (10.3) | 101(11.7) | 37 (11.1) | 138 (11.5) |
1-twice/week | 402 (46.3) | 149 (45.6) | 551 (46.1) | 376(43.6) | 139 (41.7) | 515 (43.1) |
3-4 times/week | 168 (19.3) | 75 (22.9) | 243 (20.3) | 159(18.4) | 72 (21.6) | 231 (19.3) |
5-6 times/week | 84 (9.7) | 46 (14.1) | 130 (10.9) | 91 (10.6) | 46 (13.8) | 137 (11.5) |
Once/day | 97 (11.2) | 30 (9.2) | 127 (10.6) | 104(12.1) | 36 (10.8) | 140 (11.7) |
Twice or more/day | 20 (2.3) | 2 (0.6) | 22 (1.8) | 31 (3.6) | 3 (0.9) | 34 (2.8) |
Table 4 shows the results of the frequency of consumption of dairy products and the comparison between women and men before and during lockdown.
Regarding milk, the highest percentages of consumption were found for the 1-2 times/week and once a day categories, remaining similar before and during lockdown.
Most people consumed yogurt 1-2 times/week. During lockdown, the percentage of people who consumed it 3-4 times/week increased. The percentage of people who consumed it more than 2 times a day and who never consumed it also increased slightly.
Almost half of the people in the sample consumed cheese 1-2 times/week prior to the lockdown, but during lockdown, this percentage decreased somewhat. In addition, the percentage of people who never consumed cheese and of those who consumed it more than 5-6 times/week increased. The percentage of people who consumed cheese 3-4 times/week decreased.
Between women and men, there were significant differences in the consumption of cheese, with a higher frequency of women who consumed cheese once a day or more, both before and during lockdown. During lockdown, the percentage of people who consumed it at this frequency increased for both genders, but women continued to consume more. For the consumption of milk and yogurt, no statistically significant differences were observed between men and women.
Regarding the concordance between the frequency of consumption before and during lockdown, the concordance was good, which indicates that the consumption pattern was maintained for all the foods in the table. The frequencies of consumption of processed and industrial foods are shown in Table 5. More than 55% of the sample consumed fast food before lockdown, while during lockdown, the percentage of people who never consumed it increased. The same finding was obtained for industrial pastries. No statistically significant differences were observed between men and women for any of the foods included in this table, neither before nor during lockdown.
Table 5
Frequency of consumption of processed and industrial foods before and during lockdown by gender.
BEFORE LOCKDOWN | DURING LOCKDOWN | BEFORE/DURING (Kappa Test) |
Industrial pastries | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N(%) | Chi square | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N (%) | Chi square | Women | Men | Total |
Never | 433(51.5) | 153 (47.5) | 586 (50.4) | χ2 = 9.391 p= 0.094 | 455 (54.1) | 174 (53.9) | 629 (54.0) | χ2 = 2.360 p= 0.797 | K= 0.459 p < 0.001 | K= 0.487 p < 0.001 | K= 0.476 p < 0.001 |
1-twice/week | 311(37.0) | 115 (35.7) | 426 (36.7) | 265 (31.5) | 97 (30.0) | 362 (31.1) |
3-4 times/week | 57 (6.8) | 33 (10.2) | 90 (7.7) | 67 (8.0) | 34 (10.5) | 101 (8.7) |
5-6 times/week | 15 (1.8) | 12 (3.7) | 27 (2.3) | 24 (2.9) | 7 (2.2) | 31 (2.7) |
Once/day | 17 (2.0) | 8 (2.5) | 25 (2.2) | 22 (2.6) | 8 (2.5) | 30 (2.6) |
Twice or more/day | 7 (0.8) | 1 (0.3) | 8 (0.7) | 8 (1.0) | 3 (0.9) | 11 (0.9) |
Salty snacks | | χ2 = 1.458 p= 0.918 | | χ2 = 8.665 p= 0.123 | K= 0.389 p < 0.001 | K= 0.477 p < 0.001 | K= 0.415 p < 0.001 |
Never | 275(32.2) | 110 (34.3) | 385 (32.8) | 256 (29.9) | 125 (38.3) | 381 (32.2) |
1-twice/week | 450(52.7) | 161 (50.2) | 611 (52.0) | 398 (46.5) | 131 (40.2) | 529 (44.8) |
3-4 times/week | 90 (10.5) | 33 (10.3) | 123 (10.5) | 131 (15.3) | 43 (13.2) | 174 (14.7) |
5-6 times/week | 26 (3.0) | 10 (3.1) | 36 (3.1) | 40 (4.7) | 17 (5.2) | 57 (4.8) |
Once/day | 12 (1.4) | 6 (1.9) | 18 (1.5) | 27 (3.2) | 8 (2.5) | 35 (3.0) |
Twice or more/day | 1 (0.1) | 1 (0.3) | 2 (0.2) | 4 (0.5) | 2 (0.6) | 6 (0.5) |
Fast-food | | χ2 = 2.298 p= 0.807 | | χ2 = 1.100 p= 0.954 | K= 0.387 p < 0.001 | K= 0.464 p < 0.001 | K= 0.408 p < 0.001 |
Never | 305 (36.4) | 105 (32.9) | 410 (35.4) | 436 (51.7) | 164 (51.1) | 600 (51.5) |
1-twice/week | 471 (56.2) | 187 (58.6) | 658 (56.9) | 339 (40.2) | 129 (40.2) | 468 (40.2) |
3-4 times/week | 50 (6.0) | 22 (6.9) | 72 (6.2) | 49 (5.8) | 21 (6.5) | 70 (6.0) |
5-6 times/week | 7 (0.8) | 4 (1.3) | 11 (1.0) | 14 (1.7) | 5 (1.6) | 19 (1.6) |
Once/day | 4 (0.5) | 1 (0.3) | 5 (0.4) | 4 (0.5) | 2 (0.6) | 6 (0.5) |
Twice or more/day | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.1) | 2 (0.2) | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.2) |
Regarding the agreement between the frequency of consumption before and during lockdown, the Kappa coefficient was rather low, which indicates that the consumption pattern was not maintained, especially for salty snacks, the consumption of which increased significantly, especially in women.
Table 6 shows the results of the consumption of soft drinks and alcohol. The most frequent consumption category for both fermented and distilled alcohol was once or twice a week before lockdown and never during lockdown. There were significant differences between men and women in the consumption of beer/wine and distilled alcohol. Before lockdown, men consumed both types of alcohol more frequently than women, and this pattern was maintained during lockdown. For soft drinks, a decrease was also seen, increasing the number of people who never drank them during confinement. No statistically significant differences were observed between men and women either before or during lockdown.
Table 6
Frequency of consumption of soft drinks and alcohol before and during lockdown by gender.
BEFORE LOCKDOWN | DURING LOCKDOWN | BEFORE/DURING (Kappa Test) |
Soft drinks | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N (%) | Chi square | Women N (%) | Men N (%) | Total N (%) | Chi square | Women | Men | Total |
Never | 396(46.9) | 134 (42.0) | 530 (45.6) | χ2 = 6.497 p= 0.261 | 440 (51.6) | 150 (46.4) | 590 (50.2) | χ2 = 4.942 p= 0.423 | K= 0.512 p < 0.001 | K= 0.589 p < 0.001 | K= 0.534 p < 0.001 |
1-twice/week | 335(39.7) | 126 (39.5) | 461 (39.6) | 265 (31.1) | 105 (32.5) | 370 (31.5) |
3-4 times/week | 63 (7.5) | 31 (9.7) | 94 (8.1) | 81 (9.5) | 39 (12.1) | 120 (10.2) |
5-6 times/week | 20 (2.4) | 11 (3.4) | 31 (2.7) | 32 (3.8) | 12 (3.7) | 44 (3.7) |
Once/day | 19 (2.3) | 13 (4.1) | 32 (2.8) | 19 (2.2) | 12 (3.7) | 31 (2.6) |
Twice or more/day | 11 (1.3) | 4 (1.3) | 15 (1.3) | 15 (1.8) | 5 (1.5) | 20 (1.7) |
Beer/wine | | χ2 = 25.743 p= 0.000 | | χ2 = 15.023 p= 0.010 | K= 0.478 p < 0.001 | K= 0.517 p < 0.001 | K= 0.501 p < 0.001 |
Never | 317(37.6) | 88 (27.6) | 405 (34.9) | 400 (46.7) | 125 (38.5) | 525 (44.4) |
1-twice/week | 376(44.6) | 138 (43.3) | 514 (44.2) | 295 (34.4) | 108 (33.2) | 403 (34.1) |
3-4 times/week | 82 (9.7) | 44 (13.8) | 126 (10.8) | 67 (7.8) | 40 (12.3) | 107 (9.1) |
5-6 times/week | 30 (3.6) | 17 (5.3) | 47 (4.0) | 28 (3.3) | 16 (4.9) | 44 (3.7) |
Once/day | 30 (3.6) | 21 (6.6) | 51 (4.4) | 50 (5.8) | 23 (7.1) | 73 (6.2) |
Twice or more/day | 8 (0.9) | 11 (3.4) | 19 (1.6) | 17 (2.0) | 13 (4.0) | 30 (2.5) |
Distilled alcohol | | χ2 = 32.248 p= 0.000 | | χ2 = 19.599 p= 0.001 | K= 0.354 p < 0.001 | K= 0.462 p < 0.001 | K= 0.404 p < 0.001 |
Never | 644(78.2) | 193 (62.9) | 837 (74.0) | 713 (86.0) | 236 (75.2) | 949 (83.0) |
1-twice/week | 165 (20.0) | 101 (32.9) | 266 (23.5) | 97 (11.7) | 63 (20.1) | 160 (14.0) |
3-4 times/week | 12 (1.5) | 9 (2.9) | 21 (1.9) | 12 (1.4) | 10 (3.2) | 22 (1.9) |
5-6 times/week | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.7) | 4 (0.4) | 5 (0.6) | 3 (1.0) | 8 (0.7) |
Once/day | 0 (0.0) | 2 (0.7) | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.2) | 2 (0.6) | 4 (0.3) |
Twice or more/day | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 1 (0.1) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) | 0 (0.0) |
A moderate concordance was observed in general between consumption before and during lockdown, which indicates that the pattern was maintained. This concordance was found for both soft drinks and alcohol. Only in the case of distilled alcohol in women was the concordance rather low, which indicates that the consumption of distilled alcohol in women changed, and the percentage of women who never consumed distilled alcohol increased. The percentage of those who consumed it 5-6 times a week and once a day also increased very slightly.
Dietary Inflammatory Index (DII)
Table 7 shows the results of the DII values before and during lockdown. On the one hand, there were differences between women and men, and on the other hand, there were differences between the values before and during confinement.
The mean value of the DII both before and during lockdown in both sexes presented a negative value, which indicates an anti-inflammatory characteristic of the diet.
Before lockdown, the DII was considerably more negative among women than among men; that is, in general, women followed a more anti-inflammatory diet than men. During lockdown, the DII became more negative for both genders, which reflects that the consumption of foods with anti-inflammatory potential increased, and the difference between the genders decreased.
Comparison of the total mean value of DII before and during confinement shows that it decreased during lockdown, especially in men.
In women, no significant differences were observed for the total score between the two periods, but differences were observed for the values of some foods. During lockdown, the consumption of fruit, nuts, eggs, cheese and salty snacks increased; however, that of soft drinks and fast food decreased.
Table 7
Inflammatory index of the diet before and during lockdown by gender.
BEFORE LOCKDOWN | DURING LOCKDOWN | BEFORE/DURING |
| Women Mean (std) | Men Mean (std) | T-student | Women Mean (std) | Men Mean (std) | T-student | T-student for related samples |
Women | Men | Total |
Legumes | -1.33 (0.49) | -1.20 (0.45) | T=-4.421 p < 0.001 | -1.34 (0.51) | -1.24 (0.48) | T= -3.229 p= 0.001 | T= 1.145 p= 0.253 | T= 2.074 p= 0.039 | T= 2.044 p= 0.041 |
Fruits | -0.67 (0.82) | -0.69 (0.81) | T= 0.345 p= 0.730 | -0.71 (0.83) | -0.73 (0.84) | T= 0.236 p= 0.814 | T= 2.445 p= 0.015 | T= 1.177 p= 0.240 | T= 2.682 p= 0.007 |
Pulses | -1.00 (0.30) | -1.02 (0.32) | T= 0.929 p= 0.353 | -1.02 (0.34) | -1.01 (0.35) | T= -0.529 p= 0.597 | T= 1.670 p= 0.095 | T= -0.648 p= 0.517 | T= 1.053 p= 0.293 |
Nuts | -0.37 (0.67) | -0.43 (0.70) | T= 1.309 p= 0.191 | -0.44 (0.70) | -0.46 (0.70) | T= 0.399 p= 0.690 | T= 4.067 p< 0.001 | T= 1.074 p= 0.284 | T= 3.993 p< 0.001 |
Meat | 0.63 (0.63) | 0.67 (0.65) | T= -1.066 p= 0.287 | 0.64 (0.64) | 0.71 (0.66) | T= -1.842 p= 0.066 | T= -0.845 p= 0.398 | T= -1.961 p= 0.051 | T= -1.774 p= 0.076 |
Fish | -0.98 (0.37) | -0.98 (0.36) | T= -0.204 p= 0.838 | -0.99 (0.41) | -0.99 (0.38) | T= -0.150 p= 0.881 | T= 0.703 p= 0.482 | T= 0.522 p= 0.602 | T= 0.870 p= 0.384 |
Eggs | 0.11 (0.36) | 0.16 (0.44) | T= -1.811 p= 0.071 | 0.15 (0.38) | 0.13 (0.38) | T= 1.119 p= 0.264 | T= -3.250 p= 0.001 | T= 1.607 p= 0.109 | T= -1.790 p= 0.074 |
Milk | 0.65 (0.76) | 0.61 (0.74) | T= 0.882 p= 0.378 | 0.63 (0.76) | 0.60 (0.73) | T= 0.656 p= 0.512 | T= 1.182 p= 0.237 | T= 0.239 p= 0.811 | T= 1.119 p= 0.264 |
Yoghurt | 0.35 (0.63) | 0.34 (0.63) | T= 0.075 p= 0.940 | 0.37 (0.65) | 0.33 (0.59) | T= 1.169 p= 0.243 | T= -1.709 p= 0.088 | T= 0.750 p= 0.454 | T= -1.055 p= 0.292 |
Cheese | 0.20 (0.49) | 0.18 (0.49) | T= 0.421 p= 0.674 | 0.24 (0.56) | 0.17 (0.45) | T= 2.376 p= 0.018 | T= -2.945 p= 0.003 | T= 0.478 p= 0.633 | T= -2.314 p= 0.021 |
Industrial pastries | 0.18 (0.55) | 0.20 (0.57) | T= -0.630 p= 0.529 | 0.20 (0.58) | 0.19 (0.58) | T= 0.213 p= 0.831 | T= -1.290 p= 0.197 | T= 0.341 p= 0.733 | T= -0.933 p= 0.351 |
Salty snacks | 0.26 (0.60) | 0.31 (0.66) | T= -1.221 p= 0.222 | 0.38 (0.68) | 0.37 (0.69) | T= 0.120 p= 0.904 | T= -5.495 p< 0.001 | T= -1.707 p= 0.089 | T= -5.549 p< 0.001 |
Soft drinks | 0.64 (0.63) | 0.72 (0.66) | T= -2.107 p= 0.035 | 0.58 (0.63) | 0.66 (0.66) | T= -1.991 p= 0.047 | T= 3.140 p= 0.002 | T= 2.030 p= 0.043 | T= 3.729 p< 0.001 |
Fast food | 0.78 (0.65) | 0.84 (0.65) | T= -1.315 p= 0.189 | 0.63 (0.70) | 0.66 (0.71) | T= -0.562 p= 0.574 | T= 6.674 p< 0.001 | T= 5.437 p< 0.001 | T= 8.488 p< 0.001 |
Total score | -0.57 (2.85) | -0.28 (2.73) | T= -1.590 p= 0.112 | -0.68 (3.02) | -0.60 (2.89) | T= -0.417 p= 0.677 | T= 1.499 p= 0.134 | T= 2.548 p= 0.011 | T= 2.642 p= 0.008 |
During confinement, men increased their consumption of vegetables and decreased their consumption of soft drinks and fast food, which made the inflammatory potential of their diet decrease, and the mean score was lower, indicating that their diet changed to a more anti-inflammatory and healthy diet.
Overall, significant changes were observed in the consumption of vegetables, fruit, nuts, cheese, salty snacks, soft drinks and fast food, with increases in the consumption of vegetables, fruit, nuts and cheese during lockdown. The consumption of soft drinks and fast food decreased.