COVID19 related food insecurity and eating behaviours that may promote weight gain : the mediating role of distress and eating to cope

Food insecurity (a lack of stable access to nutritious food) is reliably associated with obesity, although the underlying mechanisms are unclear. Past research indicates that this relationship may, in part, be explained by the distress of being food insecure and subsequent eating to cope. The first UK COVID19 lockdown presented a unique opportunity to test if the same pathways existed for individuals experiencing acute disruption to their food supply (i.e., food shortages, difficulties accessing food stores). Adults in the United Kingdom (N = 222) recruited three months after the first lockdown, completed questionnaires on COVID-19 lockdown-related food insecurity, physical stress, psychological distress, eating to cope, drinking to cope, diet quality, and self-reported changes in eating behaviours that may promote weight gain (e.g. consuming larger portions). Structural equation modelling revealed that food insecurity was indirectly associated with changes in eating behaviour via distress and eating to cope. As such, individuals who experienced disruption to their food supply reported more distress; distress was associated with eating to cope and eating to cope with changes in eating behaviour. Food insecurity was also indirectly associated with diet quality, but this was via distress only. These findings demonstrate the importance of psychological mechanisms in the association between acute as well as chronic food insecurity and eating behaviour