Corona and Home Isolation: Effects on Eating Behavior and Perceived Obesogenicity of the Environment

Abstract

As a result of the corona measures, for many people their homes have become the physical environment in which they now live and work or study. The present study investigated the effect of Corona and subsequent home isolation on the eating behavior of people and whether people perceive their home environment as more or less obesogenic than the environments they find themselves normally in. More specifically, it was examined whether perceived obesogenicity affects perceived self-efficacy and the intention to eat healthy. Cross-sectional analyses were used to explore changes in eating behavior and to examine relations between the variables. Descriptive statistics of 210 participants showed that there was much division in the degree to which the home environment affected the eating behavior of people, either positively or negatively. Moreover, findings showed a negative relation between perceived obesogenicity of the environment and the intention to eat healthy, a relation that was fully mediated by perceived self-efficacy. In other words, perceiving the home environment as more obesogenic led to less self-efficacy, which in turn led to less intention to eat healthy. This was in line with expectations. The findings of this study show profound implications for future interventions, where changing people’s home environment would be a valuable way to mitigate possible negative effects of working and/or studying from home and to prevent the development of unhealthy eating habits. However, future research is needed to investigate individual differences and causal relationships.