engleski

Differences in the food choice motives before and during the covid-19 pandemic depending on covid-19 infection and vaccination status: a cross- sectional study of adults from Croatia

Introduction: Since its beginning, the COVID-19 pandemic impacts numerous aspects of our everyday lives, including diet. Despite the aforementioned, little is known about the impact of the pandemic on the motives that determine our food choices, especially in regard to COVID-19 infection and vaccination status. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to examine the differences in the food choice motives before and during the COVID-19 pandemic depending on COVID-19 infection and vaccination status in a sample of Croatian adults. Materials and Methods: The present cross-sectional study was conducted from 16 June 2021 until 30 June 2021 using an anonymous online questionnaire designed in Google Forms®. Changes in health and non-health food choice motives before and during the COVID-19 pandemic were evaluated using a validated 36-items (9 factors) Western Balkan Countries version of the Steptoe et al.’s Food Choice Questionnaire. Results: The final sample consisted of 890 women and 339 men from Croatia, aged ≥ 18 years. At the time of the data collection, 228 women (25.6%) and 114 men (33.6%) reported having been infected with SARS-CoV-2, while 445 women (50.0%) and 187 men (55.2%) were vaccinated. One-way analysis of variance revealed that mood, convenience and familiarity were significantly more important to men who have reported being infected with SARS- CoV-2, when compared to those not being infected, both before (p = 0.014, p = 0.008, p = 0.009, respectively) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (p = 0.021, p = 0.003, p = 0.013, respectively). Of the nine factors, only price was significantly more important to unvaccinated men, when compared to vaccinated ones, also both before (p = 0.001) and during the COVID-19 pandemic (p = 0.003). No statistically significant differences in food choice motives were found in women depending neither on infection or vaccination status. Conclusion and Implication: According to the results of the present study, statistically significant differences in the importance of certain food choice motives were observed in regard to COVID-19 infection and vaccination status. Knowledge related to non-intentional change of these motives could have practical implications in dealing with future similar pandemics. Keywords: COVID-19, food choice motives, Food Choice Questionnaire, Croatia Acknowledgments: This cross-sectional study formed part of an international project entitled “The impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the determinants of food choice in the adult population of Croatia and Belgium (CFC CRO-BE)” conducted by the Centre for Applied Bioanthropology of the Institute for Anthropological Research, Zagreb, Croatia in cooperation with the Psychiatric Hospital Ugljan, Ugljan, Croatia and the Institute of Tropical Medicine, Antwerp, Belgium.

COVID-19 ; food choice motives ; Food Choice Questionnaire ; Croatia

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