Isolamento social : convívio reduzido no comportamento alimentar

Abstract

People's food choices depend on several factors. Life history, influences, ideals, personal factors, resources and social context are some of them. Among those mentioned, social influence can happen by comparing consumption with the dietary pattern of others. When social coexistence needs to be reduced, these comparisons become scarce and other factors start to become more evident. Food consumption behavior becomes more conscious, regardless of the healthiness of the diet. With the declaration of a global pandemic in 2020 and the consequent need for social isolation, the present study aimed to understand people's food choices in the context of reduced social life. The theoretical opportunity was identified to develop perspectives on the theme of food, incorporating social behavior restricted to the nuances of eating behavior. As this is an unprecedented global context, a qualitative research method was applied, with a exploratory bias; In-depth interviews were conducted using a semi-structured script, with twelve participants who had restricted social contact for at least three months, in 2020. The collected data were analyzed using the content analysis technique. It was observed that, with restricted social interaction, (i) there was a change in the dynamics of people's food planning; (ii) people who had more food attention during regular social life period made their behavior more flexible; (iii) people who mentioned that they did not have time to focus on improving their diet started to practice it; (iv) all respondents became more aware of their food consumption; (v) there was a reduction in the consumption of vegetables due to the expense of preparation and the lack of convenience; (vi) there was an increase in the consumption of food (by deliveries) and indulgent alcoholic beverages to deal with emotions perceived in the pandemic, such as anxiety; (vii) the increase in anxiety was motivated by the need for social isolation, the news of viral dissemination and the increase in the workload, due to the lack of organization of the companies that practiced Home Office. In this scenario, the various changes in people's eating behavior were perceived as a result of the new dynamics of the social context and reduced coexistence due to the advent of the Coronavirus pandemic. Considering the academic and managerial relevance of the research, by presenting an unprecedented social isolation context, its contributions in these areas were explained, as well as its limitations and pointing out opportunities for future research on the food theme.