Objective: To assess changes in daily habits, food choices and lifestyle of adult Brazilians before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.Design: This observational study was carried out with Brazilian adults through an online questionnaire 5 months after the social distance measures implementation. The McNemar, McNemar–Bowker and Wilcoxon tests were used to investigate differences before and during the COVID pandemic period, adopting the statistical significance of P < 0·05.Setting: Brazil.Participants: Totally, 1368 volunteers aged 18+ years.Results: The volunteers reported a lower frequency of breakfast, morning and lunch snacks (P < 0·05) and a higher frequency of evening snacks and other meal categories during the pandemic period (P < 0·05). The results showed an increase in the consumption of bakery products, instant meals and fast food, while the consumption of vegetables and fruits decreased (P < 0·005). There was a significant increase in the frequency of consumption of alcoholic beverages (P < 0·001), but a reduction in the dose (P < 0·001), increased frequency of smoking (P = 0·007), an increase in sleep and screen time in hours and decrease in physical activity (P < 0·001).Conclusions: It was possible to observe an increase in screen time, hours of sleep, smoking and drinking frequency. On the other hand, there was a reduction in the dose of alcoholic beverages but also in the practice of physical activity. Eating habits also changed, reducing the performance of daytime meals and increasing the performance of nighttime meals. The frequency of consumption of instant meals and fast food has increased, while consumption of fruits and vegetables has decreased.

Tamires Cássia de Melo Souza, Janaina Lavalli Goston, Hugo César Martins-Costa, Elaine Carvalho Minighin, and Lucilene Rezende Anastácio. Prev Nutr Food Sci 2022;27:265-75. https://doi.org/10.3746/pnf.2022.27.3.265

Social distancing used as a measure to contain the spread of SARS-CoV-2, led to a series of changes in eating behavior, including food craving.We aimed to evaluate food craving and its associated f...

Background: The COVID 19 pandemic impacted the health and well-being of different populations around the world. The aim of this study is to investigate the changes in the daily habits of Brazilians before and during two moments of the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: A longitudinal study in which an online questionnaire (sleeping time, alcohol consumption, smoking, use of screen devices, physical activity, and dietary patterns) was applied at three moments. Results: The frequency of alcohol consumption, smoking, and sleep hours did not change significantly at different times. For the number of alcoholic beverages, there was a reduction in consumption from T0 to T1 and an increase from T1 to T2. There was a significant increase in hours of screen device use from T0 to T1, remaining high at T2. Finally, the level of physical activity in minutes reduced from T0 to T1, returning to base levels at T2. As for eating habits, there was an increase in the frequency of consumption of instant meals, fast food, and sweets at the first moment, with a significant reduction at the second moment. The consumption of legumes, milk and dairy products, bakery products, and meats was higher at T2. Conclusions: Some habits returned to or approached T0 levels. However, other habits remained unchanged, such as screen time and frequency of consumption of some food groups, throughout the last evaluation.

Assessing changes in lifestyle, dietary habits, eating behaviors, and stress during the pandemic and their impact on weight is crucial for developing effective interventions. This study investigated weight variations among Brazilians and associated habit changes over nine months during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online questionnaire was applied (T0/T1, T2). Weight variation classifications were determined from T0 to T1 and evaluated longitudinally for changes in lifestyle, dietary habits, food consumption, eating behavior, and perceived stress using generalized estimating equations (p < 0.05). Out of 453 participants, 23.6% lost weight, 18.1% maintained their weight, 26.0% gained up to 2.4 kg, and 32.2% gained ≥ 2.5 kg. Weight loss was associated with decreased food consumption and increased stress at T2. The group that gained up to 2.4 kg reported reduced food intake, snacking, meal preparation, and candy consumption but increased stress at T2. Those gaining ≥ 2.5 kg initially increased food consumption, snacking, meal preparation, hamburgers/canned products, sugary drinks, instant meals/snacks, candies, and fast food consumption at T1, all of which were reduced at T2, along with a decrease in uncontrolled and emotional eating. Although the pandemic initially affected daily habits differently based on weight changes, participants—especially those who gained more weight—tended to revert to pre-pandemic habits.

Adipose tissue plays an important role in chronic inflammation and the presence of bioactive compounds in food has been widely discussed as a means of prevention and treatment of various pathological conditions. The aim of this review is to promote an overview and elucidate pathways involved in the chronic inflammatory process triggered by adipose tissue hypertrophy and to discuss data related to the use of Acai in the modulation of inflammation. Initially, a narrative review was carried out on metabolic and molecular pathways involved in the process of subclinical chronic inflammation (NF-κB, AP-1, cross-talk between macrophages and adipocytes, increased LPS and Nrf2 pathway). Then, an integrative review was carried out on the effect of Acai in processes of chronic subclinical inflammation in humans. The database consulted was PubMed, in which the name of the fruit was crossed with the descriptors "inflammation" and "chronic diseases", prioritizing in vivo and in vitro studies related to the human species, carried out in the last ten years. It was observed that the immunomodulatory effects of Acai are increasingly clear, however, are not enough to classify the fruit as a tool in the treatment and prevention of metabolic diseases. To make possible more comprehensive inferences, it is necessary that future studies include assessment of the bioavailability of the bioactive compounds present, in addition to being performed using more suitable methods, with humans, containing sample size calculation, control group and placebo.