Working from home and dietary changes during the COVID-19 pandemic: A longitudinal study of health app (CALO mama) users

It is plausible that the coronavirus disease pandemic and related changes in work and life patterns affected dietary patterns, but existing studies have limitations owing to a cross-sectional design. Using longitudinal data, we examined dietary changes in people due to the pandemic and work and life patterns. We conducted an online survey on changes in work and life patterns during the pandemic from April 30, 2020, to May 8, 2020, among users of a health app called CALO mama provided in Japan. We retrieved and linked the dietary data for 5929 participants from January 1, 2020, to May 13, 2020. Generalized linear mixed models were used to estimate the frequencies of food intake associated with the pandemic and work and life patterns. During the state of emergency, the frequency of intake of vegetables, beans, seaweeds, fish, meats, dairy products, and snacks increased, whereas alcohol intake decreased. Working from home was associated with increased intake of vegetables, fruits, dairy products, and snacks but decreased intake of seaweeds, meats, and alcohol. Time spent on childcare was associated with decreased intake of vegetables and fruits but increased intake of meats. Probable depressive symptoms were negatively associated with the frequency of food intake other than snacks and alcohol. We conclude that diet quality improved during the pandemic in general, but attention must be paid to overconsumption of snacks and negative factors such as increased burden of childcare and depression for healthy eating.