Efeitos da Pandemia de Covid-19 sobre o Comportamento Alimentar e Variáveis Psicológicas: um estudo sobre estresse, ansiedade, afetos e autorregulação

Abstract

This study analyzed the longitudinal impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on eating behavior, psychological distress, self-regulation, and Body Mass Index (BMI), investigating the sanitary crisis as a disruptive psychosocial stressor. The research is grounded on the premise that eating regulation is a multidetermined phenomenon driven by the complex interaction among neurocognitive, affective, anthropometric, and environmental factors. A repeated-measures longitudinal study was designed with 79 participants tracked across three time points: pandemic outbreak (T1; 2020), end of the public health emergency (T2; 2023), and postpandemic period (T3; 2025). Validated psychometric instruments were utilized to assess eating behavior (TFEQ-18), stress, anxiety, and depression (DASS-21), affect (PANAS), impulsivity (BIS-11), and eating self-regulation. The results revealed a statistically significant longitudinal trajectory: uncontrolled eating, emotional eating, and mean BMI reached their peak levels in the post-pandemic assessment (T3). A relevant psychophysiological paradox emerged: while acute levels of stress and anxiety declined after the easing of sanitary restrictions, eating dysfunctions and weight gain maintained a sustained upward trajectory, demonstrating timedeferred behavioral effects. Post-pandemic correlational analyses indicated that uncontrolled eating and emotional eating were associated with higher levels of depression, anxiety, stress, negative affect, and impulsivity. Additionally, it is agreed that the variable of uncontrolled eating was inversely correlated with the perception of a lack of self-control and with the intention to modify dietary habits. Conversely, positive affect and cognitive planning were associated with self-regulation and cognitive restraint, acting as protective factors. It is concluded that exposure to chronic collective stress compromised executive self-regulatory mechanisms, promoting compensatory emotional eating and persistent weight gain. The findings demonstrate that eating behavior responds in a delayed manner to macro-structural crises, reinforcing the need for integrated interdisciplinary interventions in mental health and nutrition.