Gender, Food and the Pandemic
During the pandemic, which gender bore the brunt of stress relating to meals and nutrition?
I think your chance of answering that question correctly is considerably more than 50%. But in case you need help, here comes Murphy Research with a new report: “2021 State of Our Health: COVID One Year On: How Americans Adapted and How They Want to Move Forward,”
The report is based on monthly online surveys backed up with 75-minute Zoom interviews conducted in March, at the pandemic’s height. It’s more or less as advertised, but I was fascinated by the first section: “Eating at Home, All the Time.” It compared the food-related reactions of men and women to lockdown.
Key takeaways, verbatim from the report:
- Only women actually cooked at home more; men’s cooking remained similar to pre-pandemic.
- Instead of cooking, men increased their regular consumption of delivery/takeout, frozen meals, and prepared meals from grocery, while women did not. More men continued to dine out regularly compared to women.
- Women are significantly more likely than men to say that the pandemic affected their diet and weight negatively. Qualitatively, women – especially moms – report much more stress around food.
As I read this, in my head I heard a shout from an overwhelmingly female chorus:
WELL, DUH!