Scots turn to good food habits and guilty snacks during lockdown

With no fast food, restaurants shuttered, and dwindling takeaway options, lockdown has had a drastic impact on how - and what - we eat.

Increasing numbers of Scots have been cooking their meals from scratch during the lockdown.

Now, new research has highlighted how an increasing number of Scots are delving into their larders to rustle up home cooked meals during the pandemic.

In what has been cautiously welcomed as a sign of a shift in the nation’s notoriously unhealthy eating habits, nearly half of people (43 per cent) across Scotland are now preparing their food from scratch.

A poll commissioned by Obesity Action Scotland found that even with takeaway options drastically reduced due to coronavirus, people are trying to eat more healthy foods.

Nearly three in ten Scots (29 per cent) have upped the amount of fruit and vegetables they consume, according to the research, while over a quarter (28 per cent) have been eating fewer ready meals, which tend to contain higher amounts of fat and salt.

The organisation said such “favourable” findings and “good habits” were further boosted by the fact that more people said they were eating together with their family.

However, the poll found during a time of stress and anxiety, people are also turning to unhealthy treats and snacks in between mealtimes.

Nearly half of Scots (49 per cent) are putting away more cakes and biscuits, with a similar increase in the amount of people eating more confectionery. More than one in three (34 per cent) people, meanwhile, say they are drinking more alcohol during the lockdown period.

Indeed, while more than one in five people (22 per cent) think their diet has improved since the outbreak began, more than one in three (35 per cent) think it has deteriorated.

In a report released alongside the findings of the poll, Obesity Action Scotland said the findings suggested that some weight gain in the Scottish population may be expected.

Lorraine Tulloch, the organisation’s programme lead, said that the restrictions brought about by Covid-19 had resulted in some encouraging trends, but stressed that it was vital authorities build on the impetus.

She said: “The measures necessary to respond to this pandemic were always going to have an impact on our day to day life, and the impact this polling demonstrates it has had on our diet needs to be addressed as we move forward.

“We must harness the positive changes that have allowed us to find more time and value for food whilst addressing the negative consequences of an increased intake of sugary snacks.

“We need to re-double our efforts to improve the diet of the people of Scotland and ensure everyone has access to affordable healthy food. Actions to achieve healthy weight need to be central to the Scottish Government’s recovery plans.”

Obesity Action Scotland has called on the government to ensure policies to achieve healthy weight and an improved diet for Scotland’s population are central to coronavirus response and recovery plans.

The poll of more than 2,000 people, carried out by Mark Diffley Consultancy and Research during the second week of May, also found that around a third of people (31 per cent) have increased the amount of indoor physical activity they do, with an even greater number (35 per cent) upping their outdoors exercise.

But the majority of those polled (51 per cent) said their mental wellbeing has taken a turn for the worse during lockdown.

Mark Diffley said: “Our new polling adds significant evidence to the impact that the pandemic is having on life in Scotland, highlighting how our eating, cooking and lifestyle choices continue to change in response to the restrictions placed on our lives.”

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