Alimentación en tiempos de COVID-19. Estudio de caso para la ciudad de Ambato

Abstract

The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the way of life of human beings and even eating habits due to confinement. As such, the objective of this study is to identify the relationship between eating habits and the socioeconomic level of adult men and women in the city of Ambato. As a methodological part, a cross-sectional design is proposed, by means of online data collection, using a semi-structured questionnaire. Eating habits are determined by means of the Consumption Frequency Questionnaire and the use of the Healthy Eating Index (IAS). Socioeconomic status is determined in terms of economic income. In addition, information about perceptions and attitudes towards confinement is requested. The results show that according to the IAS the population falls into the following categories: 10.9 percent with healthy eating, 69.3 percent with eating in need of change and 19.7 percent with unhealthy eating. The population indicates that their economic income ranges between 121 USD and 400 USD and they designate between 50 USD and 100 USD per month for food expenses. The female gender registers an increase in body weight, more sedentary time, reduction in physical activity time and unhealthy eating habits. There was a significant association between eating habits and socioeconomic level with p equal to 0.0001. The close relationship between dietary habits and purchasing power generates that the population analyzed is restricted to the adoption of healthy eating patterns.