To limit the spread of coronavirus SARS-CoV-2, a nationwide lockdown started in Italy in March 2020. In this unpredictable situation, a cross-sectional study using an online questionnaire was carried out by the Observatory on Food Surplus, Recovery and Waste of CREA Food and Nutrition Centre. The aim of this work was to evaluate how Italian habits changed during this period, the determinants of changes, and the effect on food waste prevention. In a sample of 2678 respondents, 62% showed low Adherence to the Mediterranean Diet (AMD). During lockdown many of participants improved the quality of their diet, increasing their consumption of fruit (24.4%), vegetables (28.5%), legumes (22.1%), nuts (12%), and fish or shellfish (14%). Unfavorable changes were observed with the excessive consumption of sweets or pastries (36.9%) and comfort foods (22.7%), and a lack of physical activity (37.2%). The main novelty of this study was the examination of dietary changes identified by a cluster analysis. Respondents with generally high AMD improved their eating habits, while the habits of the respondents with generally low AMD remained unchanged. In addition, nearly 80% of respondents were sensitive to food waste. The study provides a useful contribution to the debate on nutritional recommendations in case of further lockdown.

Novel human coronavirus disease (COVID-19), an infectious respiratory disease, has affected more than 50 million people around the world up to November 2020, thereby becoming the fifth documented pandemic since the Spanish flu in 1918. SARS-CoV-2 virus originated in China and evolved for 4 months within the country before becoming a global threat. There is currently no drug approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) for which efficacy on the virus has been proved. Therefore, the only strategy against this virus is to apply measures that are capable of reducing its spread, such as isolation and quarantine, social distancing, community-wide containment, and strict enforcement of hygiene. Quarantine has proved to be effective in combating the spread of the virus; however, it has inevitably led to a radical change in the lives of people. Studies have been conducted in Italy and some European countries to highlight the role that quarantine has played in determining the lifestyle changes both in eating habits and physical activity and their possible correlation with increase in weight. The selection criteria involved answering a questionnaire that included information on the weight status and at least one of the other two aspects: changes in eating habits and/or physical activity during the quarantine period. The results obtained indicate, in general, that the negative effect of quarantine was on eating habits and physical activity. This was based on the observation that there has been an increase in food consumption and a reduction in physical activity with a consequent increase in weight.

Growing worldwide food demand with its environmental impacts requires a reshaping of food consumption. This study aims to evaluate the degree of Italian consumers’ awareness of sustainability and whether protein alternatives to meat could be accepted. A cross-sectional survey was carried out on a group of 815 respondents, representative of the Italian adult population for geography, gender, and age, using multivariate analysis together with cluster analysis. Lack of awareness of the consequences of food choices on the environment was found in 45% of respondents, and 51% reduced their consumption of meat. Typical foods of the Mediterranean diet (84% legumes 82% eggs, and 77% fish) were selected as the preferred sources of protein to replace meat, while insects and insect-based products were less accepted (67%). The importance of meat is the latent factor that explains more than 50% of the common variance observed in the factor analysis. The cluster analysis confirmed the importance of meat for Italian consumers, emphasizing other aspects of the sustainability of food choices. Cluster 1 (25.6%) considered meat very important. Two out of five clusters (clusters 2 and 3, 38%) considered meat replaceable in the diet, and cluster 4 (31.3%) included meat consumers that were willing to be sustainable. Cluster 5 identifies the “unsustainable consumers” (5.7%). In conclusion, besides the perceived importance of meat, there is room for recommendations for its reduction by proposing alternative foods already present in the Mediterranean diet.

Food Neophobia (FN), defined as the reluctance to eat new or unfamiliar foods, mainly concerns fruit, vegetables, and legumes, typical of the Mediterranean Diet (MD). Considering these premises, this study aimed to clarify the relationship between FN and AMD in a sample of Italian children and their association with some socio-demographic factors and children’s nutritional status. A sample of 288 children aged 3–11 years participated in an assessment carried out with a questionnaire evaluating FN and AMD, respectively, with the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS) and the KIDMED test. Most of the sample showed an intermediate (67.3%) or high level of FN (18.1%), with high rates among 6–11-year-old children (63.9%) and especially in those who were the only child (50%). The AMD was mostly low (29.5%) or medium (54.8%) and reached lower levels among higher neophobic children (51.9%; p value < 0.05). The present results confirm the study hypothesis that FN is a driver of MD abandonment and shows the positive effects on children’s eating habits and siblings. Finally, this study proves the relevance of adopting effective feeding strategies against FN to avoid its maintenance in adulthood and the detrimental effects on future overall health and well-being.

Introduction: Diet quality indices are essential tools for evaluating dietary patterns in relation to health and sustainability. This study aims to assess the quality of the Italian diet using the Adherence to Italian Dietary Guidelines Indicator (AIDGI) and World Index for Sustainability and Health (WISH2.0) and to estimate ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption as an indicator of poor diet quality.Methods: Italian food consumption data from 2005 to 2006 and 2018 to 2020 were sourced from the European Food Consumption Comprehensive Database. The dataset includes a wide range of foods categorized by age and sex; for this analysis, two population groups were considered: adults (18–64 years) and the elderly (65–74 years).Results: The sample sizes included 2,313 adults and 290 elderly individuals in 2005–2006 and 726 adults and 156 elderly individuals in 2018–2020. AIDGI and WISH2.0 showed scores close to 50% of the theoretical maximum achievable indicating that there is substantial room for improvement in the Italian dietary quality. Older adults, particularly women, exhibited healthier eating habits compared to younger adults and men.Discussions: A temporal trend was observed, having different characteristics in adults and the elderly. Both AIDGI and WISH2.0 scores indicated a more favorable change over time in the elderly compared to adults (AIDGI: +5.6% in the elderly, −5.9% in adults; WISH2.0: +2.8% in the elderly, −5.1% in adults). Although ultra-processed foods (UPFs) accounted for only 6% of total food consumption by weight in 2018–2020, they contributed to 23% of total energy intake. Despite only a modest increase in their consumption by weight, their percentage of energy intake has nearly doubled compared to 2005–2006. In contrast, the consumption of processed foods (PFs) decreased in terms of weight, from 16 to 11%, while their contribution to energy intake remained relatively stable (~28%).Conclusions: This study reveals a gradual decline in the quality of Italian diets over time, primarily reflected in the increasing consumption of UPFs and distinct demographic patterns. While overall adherence to dietary recommendations appears relatively stable, this may partly reflect the fact that current guidelines do not explicitly differentiate between UPFs and minimally processed foods—an aspect with important implications for public health.

Objective: This paper aims to evaluate whether changes in lifestyle and eating habits resulting from the Covid-19 emergency have influenced the post-pandemic level of food neophobia and in children living in an Italian central region.Methods: A sample of 99 children took part in a retrospective assessment carried out with a self-administrated questionnaire. Pre and post-pandemic evaluation of eating habits, physical activity, and lifestyle indicators was carried out. Food neophobia was evaluated following the Child Food Neophobia Scale (CFNS). Descriptive statistics were produced. A contingency analysis was performed to check associations between variables.Results: For a large part of the sample (97%) the selective food refusal did not change during the pandemic period. About 70% of participants did not change their eating habits, with some subgroups reporting an increase in the consumption of fruits (22.2%), vegetables (19.2%), and legumes (21.2%). Relevantly the impact of the pandemic on the sedentary attitude passed from 25.3 to 70.7%. Neophobia was not associated with ponderal status (p-value 0.5). However, in normal-weight children, a high prevalence of intermediate-level neophobia (78.4%) was found. 39.4% of the studied children were involved in meal preparation during social isolation, with an increase in the proportion of children that shared all meals with their family (32.3% vs. 78.8%). Non-coercive parent behaviors in reaction to food refusal were associated with low levels of neophobia (p-value < 0.05).Discussion: In this sample, for the effect of parents’ attitudes, the pandemic positively affected children’s food habits and, consequently, the level of neophobia after the social restrictions. The main implication of the study is the importance of capitalizing on the period of restrictions in order to involve children in meal sharing and food preparation.