Since COVID-19, More People Skip 'Breakfast and Lunch'... Increase in Eating Alone Too

Increase in Meal Skipping Rates in 2020 Compared to 2019
Breakfast +3.3%p, Lunch +2.5%p

Office workers are wearing coats and heading to work at the Sejongno intersection in Jongno-gu, Seoul.
Photo by Asia Economy

[Asia Economy Reporter Na Ye-eun] A survey has revealed that the number of people skipping meals has increased since the outbreak of COVID-19.

According to "The Dietary Habits of Our People" (Yoon Seong-ha and Oh Kyung-won), published in the latest issue of the weekly "Health and Disease" by the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency on the 10th, an analysis of the 2019 and 2020 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey results showed that during the early COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, the "proportion of people who skipped breakfast, lunch, and dinner the day before the survey" (meal skipping rate) was 34.6%, 10.5%, and 6.4%, respectively.

These figures represent increases of 3.3 percentage points, 2.5 percentage points, and 0.9 percentage points compared to 31.3%, 8.0%, and 5.5% in 2019, just before the COVID-19 outbreak.

The reduction in outdoor activities and the increase in working from home or remote classes due to COVID-19 appear to have contributed to irregular eating habits.

The report analyzed, "After the COVID-19 outbreak, the meal skipping rates for breakfast and dinner increased significantly," and added, "Restrictions on attending school and going to work due to COVID-19 partially contributed to irregular meals."

The proportion of people eating alone ("honbap") during breakfast, lunch, and dinner also increased. Breakfast rose from 41.6% in 2019 to 42.5% in 2020, lunch from 23.0% to 26.5%, and dinner from 17.9% to 19.4%.

Although the use of delivery food increased due to COVID-19, the overall proportion of eating out, which includes delivery food, decreased as dining out declined.

Additionally, the proportion of people who consumed delivery or takeout food at least once a day increased from 15.4% in 2019 to 18.7% in 2020, but the proportion of people who ate out (including delivery and takeout) at least once a day decreased by 5.3 percentage points from 33.3% in 2019 to 28.0% in 2020.

The proportion of people who ate home-cooked meals ("jipbap") at least once a day increased from 78.7% to 79.5%.

The report emphasized, "Continuous changes in eating habits can affect food and nutrient intake, which may lead to changes in health status," and stressed the need to develop nutrition education programs for non-face-to-face situations and prepare nutrition education measures during infectious disease outbreaks.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.