Population-scale dietary interests during the COVID-19 pandemic

TL;DR

This study analyzes how the COVID-19 pandemic caused significant shifts in dietary interests worldwide, with increased focus on home-cooked, calorie-dense foods, potentially impacting health and food consumption patterns.

Contribution

It provides a comprehensive analysis of population-wide dietary interest changes during COVID-19 across 18 countries using Google search data.

Findings

Surge in food interest during the pandemic's first wave

Increased interest in home-cooked, calorie-dense foods

Potential implications for global health and nutrition policies

Abstract

The SARS-CoV-2 virus has altered people's lives around the world. Here we document population-wide shifts in dietary interests in 18 countries in 2020, as revealed through time series of Google search volumes. We find that during the first wave of the COVID-19 pandemic there was an overall surge in food interest, larger and longer-lasting than the surge during typical end-of-year holidays in Western countries. The shock of decreased mobility manifested as a drastic increase in interest in consuming food at home and a corresponding decrease in consuming food outside of home. The largest (up to threefold) increases occurred for calorie-dense carbohydrate-based foods such as pastries, bakery products, bread, and pies. The observed shifts in dietary interests have the potential to globally affect food consumption and health outcomes. These findings can inform governmental and organizational decisions regarding measures to mitigate the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on diet and nutrition.