> top > docs > PMC:7795972 > spans > 1517-21500 > annotations

PMC:7795972 / 1517-21500 JSONTXT

Annnotations TAB JSON ListView MergeView

LitCovid-PubTator

Id Subject Object Predicate Lexical cue tao:has_database_id
28 740-748 Species denotes patients Tax:9606
29 20-44 Disease denotes coronavirus disease 2019 MESH:C000657245
30 46-54 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
31 292-305 Disease denotes viral disease MESH:D001102
32 728-739 Disease denotes psychiatric MESH:D001523
33 842-850 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
41 1041-1047 Disease denotes Stress MESH:D000079225
42 1108-1114 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
43 1144-1175 Disease denotes loss of appetite and hypophagia MESH:D001068
44 1249-1255 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
45 1327-1333 Disease denotes Stress MESH:D000079225
46 1782-1792 Disease denotes depression MESH:D000275
47 1798-1817 Disease denotes adverse weight gain MESH:D015430
49 3247-3255 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
52 3294-3299 Chemical denotes sugar MESH:D000073893
53 3381-3389 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
55 3480-3488 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
65 2056-2062 Species denotes people Tax:9606
66 2830-2835 Species denotes women Tax:9606
67 1986-1994 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
68 2258-2264 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
69 2337-2345 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
70 2700-2709 Disease denotes depressed MESH:D000275
71 2713-2720 Disease denotes anxious MESH:D001007
72 2854-2862 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
73 3030-3038 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
76 4058-4070 Species denotes Participants Tax:9606
77 3759-3767 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
80 4770-4778 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
81 4885-4893 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
86 5029-5041 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
87 5563-5575 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
88 5798-5810 Species denotes Participants Tax:9606
89 5300-5308 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
92 7045-7053 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
93 7100-7108 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
95 7794-7806 Species denotes Participants Tax:9606
97 8102-8114 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
102 8430-8442 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
103 8609-8621 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
104 8952-8964 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
105 8697-8705 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
107 9484-9489 Chemical denotes Sugar MESH:D000073893
111 9687-9699 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
112 9816-9828 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
113 9949-9961 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
115 10109-10133 Disease denotes COVID-19-Related Worries MESH:C000657245
123 10237-10243 Gene denotes OR 1.9 Gene:391110
124 10621-10627 Gene denotes OR 1.3 Gene:128360
125 10518-10524 Gene denotes OR 1.3 Gene:128360
126 10168-10180 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
127 10205-10208 Species denotes men Tax:9606
128 10298-10310 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
129 10441-10453 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
137 11054-11062 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
138 11303-11311 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
139 11502-11510 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
140 11643-11649 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
141 11666-11674 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
142 11786-11792 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
143 12162-12168 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
149 12203-12215 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
150 12252-12255 Species denotes men Tax:9606
151 12515-12520 Species denotes women Tax:9606
152 12559-12562 Species denotes men Tax:9606
153 12649-12655 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
159 13176-13188 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
160 12962-12970 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
161 13682-13692 Disease denotes depression MESH:D000275
162 13957-13965 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
163 14113-14121 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
178 15058-15067 Species denotes chocolate Tax:3641
179 15079-15088 Species denotes chocolate Tax:3641
180 15127-15136 Species denotes chocolate Tax:3641
181 15275-15287 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
182 15887-15895 Species denotes patients Tax:9606
183 14695-14700 Chemical denotes sugar MESH:D000073893
184 14609-14628 Disease denotes depressive symptoms MESH:D000275
185 14840-14846 Disease denotes Stress MESH:D000079225
186 15385-15391 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
187 15584-15590 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
188 15699-15718 Disease denotes adverse weight gain MESH:D015430
189 15723-15730 Disease denotes obesity MESH:D009765
190 15793-15800 Disease denotes obesity MESH:D009765
191 15878-15886 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
195 16130-16138 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
196 16482-16488 Disease denotes stress MESH:D000079225
197 17164-17174 Disease denotes depression MESH:D000275
201 18252-18264 Species denotes participants Tax:9606
202 18634-18640 Species denotes people Tax:9606
203 18067-18075 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
209 19713-19718 Chemical denotes sugar MESH:D000073893
210 19106-19114 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
211 19386-19394 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
212 19504-19512 Disease denotes COVID-19 MESH:C000657245
213 19924-19943 Disease denotes adverse weight gain MESH:D015430

LitCovid-PD-HP

Id Subject Object Predicate Lexical cue hp_id
T2 1782-1792 Phenotype denotes depression http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0000716
T3 1806-1817 Phenotype denotes weight gain http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0004324
T4 2402-2420 Phenotype denotes increased appetite http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0002591
T5 2789-2800 Phenotype denotes weight gain http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0004324
T6 13682-13692 Phenotype denotes depression http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0000716
T7 15707-15718 Phenotype denotes weight gain http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0004324
T8 15723-15730 Phenotype denotes obesity http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0001513
T9 15793-15800 Phenotype denotes obesity http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0001513
T10 17164-17174 Phenotype denotes depression http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0000716
T11 19932-19943 Phenotype denotes weight gain http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/HP_0004324

LitCovid-sentences

Id Subject Object Predicate Lexical cue
T12 0-2 Sentence denotes 1.
T13 3-15 Sentence denotes Introduction
T14 16-149 Sentence denotes The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic constitutes a worldwide state of emergency that is unparalleled in recent times [1].
T15 150-371 Sentence denotes Countries all over the world have implemented unprecedented non-pharmaceutical interventions (NPIs) in order to limit the spread of the novel viral disease, including regional- and national-level lockdowns and quarantine.
T16 372-530 Sentence denotes As communities were closing down, concerns were raised about the impact of these interventions on other aspects of public health, including mental health [2].
T17 531-631 Sentence denotes In the wake of the first phase of the pandemic, evidence of its impact on mental health is emerging.
T18 632-864 Sentence denotes Although limited, most current studies show an increased burden of mental health symptoms among psychiatric patients and healthcare workers and lower psychological well-being in the general population amid the COVID-19 outbreak [3].
T19 865-1040 Sentence denotes Population-based studies have also revealed a high occurrence of self-reported psychological distress during the early phases of the pandemic in different populations [4,5,6].
T20 1041-1098 Sentence denotes Stress and emotional state influence the eating behavior.
T21 1099-1182 Sentence denotes To many, stress and negative mood can induce loss of appetite and hypophagia [7,8].
T22 1183-1326 Sentence denotes However, for a major subset of individuals, negative emotions and stress cause them to eat more—a type of eating known as emotional eating [9].
T23 1327-1534 Sentence denotes Stress is known to induce a shift in individuals, making them favor hyperpalatable foods, i.e., calorie-dense foods high in fat and/or sugar content, and this tendency is stronger in emotional eaters [7,10].
T24 1535-1655 Sentence denotes Even under habitual circumstances, emotional eaters consume more energy-dense and sweet snack foods than others [11,12].
T25 1656-1826 Sentence denotes There is evidence emerging that points to the role of emotional eating as a behavioral mechanism mediating the association of depression with adverse weight gain [13,14].
T26 1827-1985 Sentence denotes Thus, emotional eating may pose an additional health burden to those vulnerable to eating more, and more unhealthily, during moments of hardship and distress.
T27 1986-2081 Sentence denotes COVID-19 represents a major disruption on the day-to-day life of most people in affected areas.
T28 2082-2294 Sentence denotes There is reason to believe that the pandemic has an impact on the eating habits not only due to the practical effects of the lockdown, but also through its effect on perceived stress and psychological well-being.
T29 2295-2509 Sentence denotes Current studies on eating habits amid the COVID-19 outbreak reveal a shift in self-reported eating towards increased appetite and overall food consumption, as well as increased snacking in-between meals [15,16,17].
T30 2510-2725 Sentence denotes A study regarding the most critical phase of the first Italian lockdown shows a substantial prevalence of emotional eating in the population, in particular among those that reported feeling depressed or anxious [4].
T31 2726-2903 Sentence denotes Similarly, a Chinese study on emotional eating and gestational weight gain amid the pandemic found that women who worried about COVID-19 had higher emotional eating scores [18].
T32 2904-3119 Sentence denotes Our aim was to assess the prevalence of emotional eating and its association with worries and psychological distress amid the COVID-19 lockdown through a large-scale population-based study in a major city in Norway.
T33 3120-3265 Sentence denotes Our main research questions were:How prevalent was emotional eating among females and males in different age groups during the COVID-19 lockdown?
T34 3266-3432 Sentence denotes Did the consumption of high-sugar foods and beverages differ between the overall population and those experiencing COVID-19-related worries or psychological distress?
T35 3433-3531 Sentence denotes Was emotional eating associated with levels of COVID-19-related worries or psychological distress?
T36 3533-3535 Sentence denotes 2.
T37 3536-3557 Sentence denotes Materials and Methods
T38 3559-3563 Sentence denotes 2.1.
T39 3564-3582 Sentence denotes Survey Methodology
T40 3583-3812 Sentence denotes A random selection of 81,170 individuals from a total of 224,000 adult inhabitants in Bergen, Norway, were invited to participate in a survey assessing the consequences of the COVID-19 outbreak and the NPIs that were implemented.
T41 3813-4057 Sentence denotes NPIs included social distancing and quarantine, travel restrictions, closing of schools and universities, mandated use of home office, restrictions on the use of public space and closed social arenas for sports, leisure, and culture activities.
T42 4058-4150 Sentence denotes Participants were drawn from a contact register through the Norwegian Digitalization Agency.
T43 4151-4251 Sentence denotes The questionnaire was sent to invitees by email through the web-based questionnaire tool SurveyXact.
T44 4252-4302 Sentence denotes Data were collected between 15 April and 30 April.
T45 4303-4413 Sentence denotes During the study period, restrictions and policies regarding the lockdown remained mainly unaltered in Norway.
T46 4414-4568 Sentence denotes In total, 29,535 (36%) individuals agreed to participate in the study, and among these, 24,968 (84%) completed questionnaire items relevant to this study.
T47 4570-4574 Sentence denotes 2.2.
T48 4575-4588 Sentence denotes Questionnaire
T49 4589-4788 Sentence denotes The questionnaire contained items collecting demographic information and self-reported weight and height and items that focused on various aspects of life and health amid the first COVID-19 lockdown.
T50 4789-5018 Sentence denotes Survey items relevant to this study include those assessing eating habits and emotional eating, COVID-19-related worries and symptoms of psychological distress—all of which are included in detail in the Supplementary Document S1.
T51 5019-5243 Sentence denotes In brief, participants were asked to express their level of worry concerning health-related and economic consequences of the pandemic and the lockdown on a three-point scale ranging from not worried to substantially worried.
T52 5244-5366 Sentence denotes Health-related worries included fear of transmission of COVID-19 to oneself, to closed ones, or to elderly family members.
T53 5367-5470 Sentence denotes Worries related to the economy included fear of being laid off or experiencing poorer personal economy.
T54 5471-5721 Sentence denotes In accordance with a previous Norwegian survey, emotional eating was assessed by asking the participants to recall the number of times, during the past week, they had been comfort eating or eating more in response to feeling down or unsatisfied [19].
T55 5722-5797 Sentence denotes Scoring 5 or higher on the item was defined as “frequent emotional eating”.
T56 5798-5944 Sentence denotes Participants were also asked to recall how often, on average, they had been consuming high-sugar food items and beverages during the past 30 days.
T57 5945-6120 Sentence denotes In the questionnaire, high-sugar food items were defined and exemplified as cakes, biscuits, desserts, and candies, whereas high-sugar beverages included soft drinks and soda.
T58 6121-6211 Sentence denotes A self-reported consumption above three times per week was considered a “frequent intake”.
T59 6212-6470 Sentence denotes Psychological distress was measured using the 10-item version of the standardized questionnaire Hopkins symptom checklist (SCL-10) assessing mental health symptoms during the past 7 days, setting the threshold of distress at a mean SCL-10 score of 1.85 [20].
T60 6472-6476 Sentence denotes 2.3.
T61 6477-6497 Sentence denotes Statistical Analyses
T62 6498-6607 Sentence denotes All statistical analyses were performed using the software Stata SE 16 (StataCorp, College Station, TX, USA).
T63 6608-6699 Sentence denotes Graphic presentations were produced in Microsoft Excel 15.26 (Microsoft, Redmond, WA, USA).
T64 6700-6854 Sentence denotes The Pearson’s chi square test was used in order to determine the statistical significance of contingency tables on which graphic presentations were based.
T65 6855-7166 Sentence denotes An ordered logistic regression model presented with odds ratios (OR) with 95% confidence intervals was used to predict the degree of emotional eating on a scale from 1 to 7 by the variables COVID-19-related worries, work-related consequences of COVID-19 and psychological distress, and sociodemographic factors.
T66 7167-7278 Sentence denotes The odds ratios in ordinal logistic models give the change in odds for a one-unit increase in the Likert scale.
T67 7279-7404 Sentence denotes Assumptions including correlation/collinearity between independent variables in the model and proportional odds were checked.
T68 7405-7496 Sentence denotes The proportionality of odds assumption was assessed for all predictor variables separately.
T69 7497-7611 Sentence denotes Criteria for proportional odds were met, although the assessment revealed small variations for certain predictors.
T70 7612-7706 Sentence denotes For the sake of transparency, a multinomial logistic regression table is presented (Table S1).
T71 7707-7793 Sentence denotes Results were considered statistically significant at p-values < 0.05 for all analyses.
T72 7794-7878 Sentence denotes Participants with missing answers on relevant items were excluded from all analyses.
T73 7879-7975 Sentence denotes Descriptive statistics with percentages and medians (with 25–75 percentiles) are also presented.
T74 7977-7981 Sentence denotes 2.4.
T75 7982-7988 Sentence denotes Ethics
T76 7989-8097 Sentence denotes The study was approved by the Norwegian Regional Committee for Ethics in Medical Research (REK 2020/131560).
T77 8098-8263 Sentence denotes All participants provided electronic informed consent before responding to the emailed survey; confidentiality and the right to withdraw from the study were assured.
T78 8264-8351 Sentence denotes The study conforms with the ethical principles outlined in the Declaration of Helsinki.
T79 8353-8355 Sentence denotes 3.
T80 8356-8363 Sentence denotes Results
T81 8365-8369 Sentence denotes 3.1.
T82 8370-8415 Sentence denotes Demographic Characteristics of the Population
T83 8416-8515 Sentence denotes Of the 24,968 participants, 50% were under the age of 50, and 56% were female, as shown in Table 1.
T84 8516-8583 Sentence denotes The median body mass index (BMI) was 25 (interquartile range (IQR):
T85 8584-8591 Sentence denotes 23–28).
T86 8592-8796 Sentence denotes In total, 45% of participants reported substantial worries concerning health-related consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic, while 17% expressed substantial worries related to outcomes on personal economy.
T87 8797-8891 Sentence denotes Twenty percent of the overall population scored above the threshold of psychological distress.
T88 8892-9075 Sentence denotes As to consequences of the pandemic and lockdown, 16% of the participants were or had been placed in quarantine, 37% were working from home, and 8% were temporarily laid off from work.
T89 9077-9081 Sentence denotes 3.2.
T90 9082-9157 Sentence denotes Prevalence of Emotional Eating in Females and Males in Different Age Groups
T91 9158-9280 Sentence denotes Overall, 62% of females and 43% of males reported episodes of emotional eating during the past week, as shown in Figure 1.
T92 9281-9354 Sentence denotes Frequent emotional eating was reported by 16% of females and 9% of males.
T93 9355-9457 Sentence denotes Emotional eating was least prevalent in the oldest age groups, χ2 (30, N = 24,968) = 1200, p < 0.001).
T94 9459-9463 Sentence denotes 3.3.
T95 9464-9509 Sentence denotes Consumption of High-Sugar Foods and Beverages
T96 9510-9683 Sentence denotes Twenty-two percent of those with substantial worries reported a high weekly intake of high-sugar food items, compared to 19% of those without substantial worries (Figure 2).
T97 9684-9772 Sentence denotes In participants with psychological distress, the numbers were 27% and 19%, respectively.
T98 9773-9911 Sentence denotes As to high-sugar beverages, 11% of worried participants had a frequent weekly intake, compared to 7% of those without substantial worries.
T99 9912-10070 Sentence denotes Among the psychologically distressed participants, 15% reported a high weekly intake of high-sugar beverages, compared to 8% of the non-distressed population.
T100 10072-10076 Sentence denotes 3.4.
T101 10077-10160 Sentence denotes Emotional Eating in Relation to COVID-19-Related Worries and Psychological Distress
T102 10161-10282 Sentence denotes Female participants were more inclined than men to report emotional eating (OR 1.9 (CI95% 1.8–2.0)), as shown in Table 2.
T103 10283-10428 Sentence denotes When comparing participants in the age group between 18 and 30 years, those in older age categories predominantly reported less emotional eating.
T104 10429-10542 Sentence denotes Conversely, participants aged 30–39 years were more inclined to report emotional eating (OR 1.3 (CI95% 1.1–1.4)).
T105 10543-10774 Sentence denotes Substantial health-related worry was weakly associated with emotional eating (OR 1.3 (CI95% 1.2–1.5)), whereas substantial worry related to personal economy had a stronger association with emotional eating (OR 1.7 (CI95% 1.5–1.9)).
T106 10775-10888 Sentence denotes The strongest association was found between psychological distress and emotional eating (OR 4.2 (CI95% 3.9–4.4)).
T107 10890-10892 Sentence denotes 4.
T108 10893-10903 Sentence denotes Discussion
T109 10904-11341 Sentence denotes This large population-based study presents data on the prevalence of emotional eating and its association with worries and mental distress during the COVID-19 lockdown in Norway and is the first to explore associations between emotional eating and worries related to health and personal economy during a pandemic—findings that are in line with those presented in a study on eating habits during the COVID-19 lockdown period in Italy [4].
T110 11342-11517 Sentence denotes Due to limited evidence on the baseline levels of emotional eating in the study population, we are unable to directly compare these numbers with those from pre-COVID-19 times.
T111 11518-11661 Sentence denotes However, emotional eating and associated eating behaviors are closely related to stressful life events and to perceived life stress [21,22,23].
T112 11662-11952 Sentence denotes The COVID-19 pandemic and the NPIs that were implemented during the lockdown period could represent a significant source of stress to many, and it is therefore not implausible that the prevalence of emotional eating was in fact increased during the study period compared to habitual levels.
T113 11953-12195 Sentence denotes Literature from another collectively stressful event, namely, an earthquake in New Zealand, showed increased over-eating in subjects that were already prone to emotional eating and who reported high levels of stress related to the event [24].
T114 12196-12309 Sentence denotes Female participants reported more emotional eating than men, consistently with findings in other studies [12,25].
T115 12310-12388 Sentence denotes An interesting hypothesis relates this gender difference to dietary restraint.
T116 12389-12502 Sentence denotes Dietary restraint refers to the cognitive effort to control food and calorie intake, as is the case with dieting.
T117 12503-12568 Sentence denotes In general, women exhibit higher dietary restraint than men [26].
T118 12569-12786 Sentence denotes Moreover, experimental studies have shown that dieters eat more when exposed to stress or negative emotion than non-dieters, suggesting that dieting could in fact be a possible risk factor for emotional eating [9,27].
T119 12787-12922 Sentence denotes Interestingly, di Renzo et al. found that those who had been dieting prior to the study period were more prone to emotional eating [4].
T120 12923-13016 Sentence denotes Worries concerning the consequences of COVID-19 were weakly associated with emotional eating.
T121 13017-13165 Sentence denotes This association was stronger for worries related to personal economy and job security compared to those related to health and disease transmission.
T122 13166-13344 Sentence denotes Possibly, participants with health-related worries could be more conscious of their eating behavior and therefore have some inherent resistance to unhealthy and emotional eating.
T123 13345-13600 Sentence denotes It is also possible that the prospect of negative outcomes on personal economy could have a stronger impact on worriers than the prospect of disease transmission and contraction, i.e., it is possible that the economic worriers were, in fact, more worried.
T124 13601-13816 Sentence denotes A study comparing the mediation effect of emotional eating on the association of depression with BMI in Denmark and Spain highlighted the role of unemployment in explaining this mediation in the latter country [28].
T125 13817-13927 Sentence denotes This was seen in the context of the 2008–2014 Spanish financial crisis, leading to an upsurge in unemployment.
T126 13928-14040 Sentence denotes During our study period, the COVID-19 lockdown led to a more than four-fold rise in unemployment in Norway [29].
T127 14041-14204 Sentence denotes Importantly, there was a social gradient in the loss of work related to COVID-19, where employees with the lowest income were the most at risk of losing their job.
T128 14205-14317 Sentence denotes In Norway, several measures to reduce economic vulnerability were implemented early in the lockdown period [30].
T129 14318-14437 Sentence denotes Thus, it can be assumed that the associations we present could have been even stronger in the absence of such measures.
T130 14438-14507 Sentence denotes Emotional eating was strongly associated with psychological distress.
T131 14508-14664 Sentence denotes This is in line with findings reported in the literature which present positive associations between depressive symptoms and emotional eating [11,12,13,14].
T132 14665-14839 Sentence denotes Similarly, the intake of high-sugar foods and beverages was markedly higher in those scoring above the threshold of psychological distress compared to the overall population.
T133 14840-15003 Sentence denotes Stress is known to induce a shift in individuals to favor energy-dense foods containing high amounts of fat and/or sugar, especially among emotional eaters [7,10].
T134 15004-15293 Sentence denotes An experimental study on the mood-enhancing effect of chocolate found that chocolate, in particular, highly palatable milk chocolate, had a short-lived effect on improving negative mood, and that this effect was stronger in high-degree emotional eaters than in the other participants [31].
T135 15294-15440 Sentence denotes It is unlikely that eating certain foods has an actual role in enhancing mood and lowering stress other than short-lived reward or relief [21,32].
T136 15441-15614 Sentence denotes Still, these short-term effects, or even the belief that eating certain foods will provide comfort, may potentially support a tendency towards stress-induced (over-) eating.
T137 15615-15731 Sentence denotes This habit could, on the long term, represent an added health burden in the form of adverse weight gain and obesity.
T138 15732-15901 Sentence denotes With regard to the current pandemic, it is worth noting that obesity and related co-morbidities are emerging as risk factors for poor outcomes in COVID-19 patients [33].
T139 15902-16056 Sentence denotes Our study clearly demonstrates that psychological distress is associated with emotional eating and a higher consumption of high-sugar foods and beverages.
T140 16057-16155 Sentence denotes The same is seen, but to a lesser extent, in those reporting substantial COVID-19-related worries.
T141 16156-16345 Sentence denotes Moreover, we found that worries related to personal economy and job security had a stronger association with emotional eating compared to worries related to health and disease transmission.
T142 16346-16407 Sentence denotes To our knowledge, this is the first study demonstrating this.
T143 16408-16613 Sentence denotes This finding raises the question of whether those vulnerable to financial stress, e.g., those with a lower socioeconomic status, are more at risk of emotional eating during periods of economic uncertainty.
T144 16614-16794 Sentence denotes In fact, emotional eating could play a role in the association of low socioeconomic status with higher BMI—a role that is dependent on emotional and psychological distress [34,35].
T145 16795-17045 Sentence denotes Future research, preferably in the form of large-scale longitudinal studies, could further elucidate this and the possible preventive health measures aimed at populations at risk of making adverse food choices during moments of hardship and distress.
T146 17046-17183 Sentence denotes Interestingly, recent randomized controlled trials point to dietary improvement as a promising treatment strategy for depression [36,37].
T147 17184-17390 Sentence denotes Interventions aimed at healthy eating could have a dualistic beneficial effect on improving eating behaviors, while at the same time reducing psychological distress for those vulnerable to emotional eating.
T148 17392-17417 Sentence denotes Strengths and limitations
T149 17418-17598 Sentence denotes Our study provides an overview of the prevalence of emotional eating and its association with worry and psychological distress on a large scale amid a worldwide state of emergency.
T150 17599-17712 Sentence denotes One strength of this study is its large sample size, allowing analyses with high precision and statistical power.
T151 17713-17902 Sentence denotes Moreover, the study period coincided with the most invasive implementation of NPIs in Norway yet, and this offers insight into a phase that exemplifies the impact of a large-scale pandemic.
T152 17903-17999 Sentence denotes One inherent limitation of this study is its cross-sectional design, limiting causal inferences.
T153 18000-18124 Sentence denotes This also prevents us from drawing conclusions about the effect of COVID-19 and related exposures on outcomes, specifically.
T154 18125-18279 Sentence denotes Another limitation of this study is that it relies on self-report and therefore is subject to recall bias and dependent on the participants’ own insights.
T155 18280-18466 Sentence denotes It is also based on relatively few, but validated, questions related to eating habits and could therefore provide a limited range of detail and nuance compared to a larger questionnaire.
T156 18467-18785 Sentence denotes There is also an inherent selection bias in our study due to the questionnaire being written in Norwegian and distributed solely through digital means, which excludes people without access to the internet and with limited proficiency in the Norwegian language—e.g., elderly inhabitants and first-generation immigrants.
T157 18786-19024 Sentence denotes Moreover, the senior citizens that did participate in this study are likely more self-reliant and healthier than those in the same age group that were unable to participate, providing a potentially unbalanced view of the oldest age group.
T158 19026-19028 Sentence denotes 5.
T159 19029-19040 Sentence denotes Conclusions
T160 19041-19200 Sentence denotes Our study has shown associations between psychological distress, COVID-19-related worries, and emotional eating amid the first phase of the pandemic in Norway.
T161 19201-19484 Sentence denotes Emotional eating was reported by more than half of the population during the lockdown period and was especially prevalent among females, those expressing substantial worries concerning COVID-19-related consequences—and, in particular, among those experiencing psychological distress.
T162 19485-19657 Sentence denotes The association of COVID-19-related worries with emotional eating was strongest for individuals concerned about potential consequences on personal economy and job security.
T163 19658-19804 Sentence denotes In addition, we found that the reported intake of high-sugar foods and beverages was higher in the same groups compared to the general population.
T164 19805-19983 Sentence denotes Emotional eating could pose an additional health burden to vulnerable populations in the form of poor food choices and adverse weight gain during this extraordinary global event.