encouraging sustainable and healthy eating behavior

COVID-19 has caused the eating behavior of groups of Dutch people to switch to healthier and more sustainable or unhealthier food. This emerges in a study by Wageningen University & Research commissioned by the Ministry of Agriculture, Nature and Food Quality. The study looks at the impact of the corona pandemic on food choice behavior of the Dutch during the pandemic. The majority of people show a similar pattern, but especially young people, overweight people and vulnerable people have started to eat differently.

study

The study examined nine Dutch studies and 23 European scientific articles on corona and eating behavior and bundled the results. The researchers also looked at what we can learn from the crisis to make sustainable and healthy eating habits take root.

Young people started to eat unhealthy food

The majority of people do not show any changes during the Corona crisis, but a number of striking shifts do come to light. For example, some groups eat more fruit and vegetables and less snacks and alcohol. Also, more regional and seasonal products are bought and less food is thrown away. At the same time, there are also groups that have started to eat and drink less healthily: more snacks, more frequent take-out or delivery, more alcohol. Striking: the shifts – positive and negative – are particularly visible among young people, overweight people and people with poor mental health. This is much less the case in the elderly. All in all, about 22 percent of the Dutch have started to eat healthier as a result of the pandemic, while 12 percent have started to eat less healthily. “At first glance, these changes don’t seem that shocking,” says Marleen Onwezen, researcher at Wageningen Economic Research, “but shifts in food patterns on this scale never actually occur.”

More motivation, more possibilities

According to Onwezen, there are various explanations for the changes in eating patterns: “Some people have been motivated by the pandemic to eat healthier. Factors such as health, improving the immune system and wanting to lose weight play a role in this. Sustainability motives also play a role, such as the preference for more Dutch products. In addition, because they are at home more often, people also have more opportunities to spend longer in the kitchen, for example. At the same time, vulnerable groups appear to be less resilient and stress, fear and boredom can actually stimulate unhealthy eating. People who are better able to accept the new reality often have a healthier diet.”

Intrinsic motivation

According to Onwezen, the changes in diet during COVID-19 offer opportunities: “Normally it is very difficult for people to change their food behavior, but COVID-19 has made many people more aware of food and attach more value to health and sustainability. Because of this intrinsic motivation, they make more and more conscious choices that also last in the long term. Actions to keep people motivated help, such as role models that can be followed via social media. The communication about COVID has made some people aware of the importance of living healthier. For example, it was in the news daily that obese people seemed more susceptible to the virus. This way of communicating can also be used without a pandemic to let people experience the urgency of a healthy diet.

New habits through being at home more

Due to the pandemic, people are eating more at home, which has led to new habits: cooking longer, eating more seasonal vegetables, using leftovers from the freezer on Wednesday. “Through self-nudging, people can continue to subtly stimulate themselves to make the healthy choice the easy one,” says Marleen Onwezen. “You can store unhealthy snacks, for example, in the upper kitchen cupboards or in a cupboard with a lock. Or you can park the car a little further, so that you can take the bike faster to do your shopping.”

To prevent vulnerable people from relapsing into unhealthy food-choice behaviour, they need support, says Onwezen: “It helps if they learn to deal with the crisis better, for example because they also start to see positive sides or because they learn to take the situation as it is. that is.”

COVID and sustainable food choice behavior

COVID-19 therefore offers a range of starting points to permanently stimulate healthy and sustainable food choice behavior and to discourage unhealthy and unsustainable choices. Onbes: “Although we were surprised by COVID, we should not be surprised by the temptations that are coming after the pandemic. The impact of COVID on our food choices provides insights that allow us to accelerate the transition to a healthy and sustainable diet.”