Has the Pandemic Screwed Our Relationship with Food?

Eating disorders are on the rise, and the last year-and-a half of lockdowns has further increased the pressure. So what can you do if you are one of many who feels their food habits are on a slippery slope?

- Ally Head

Having moved out of a flat in an area that she loved in March last year, Jia Sharma* found herself living alone and locked down.

As chaos swirled, the 20-year-old began to exert control over the only thing she felt she could—her calories. “The lockdown, and the pandemic overall, made me feel like I was losing my grip on my life, so I challenged myself to see how little I could eat,” Jia explains. “I tracked my calorie intake in a notebook. Sometimes, I was euphoric about losing weight, but more often than not I found myself anxious and mentally exhausted.”The COVID-19 lockdowns triggered a spike in mental health issues—such as stress, anxiety, and low mood—among adults. For some, like Jia, these issues manifested as eating disorders (EDs). Being unable to work or see friends meant that she saw lockdown as an opportunity to “better” herself. “Unfortunately, ‘bettering myself’ translated to starving my body and an obsession with losing weight,” she says. Jia is far from alone. Statistics from UK-based eating disorder charity, Beat, paint a worrying picture. In November, they saw a 140% increase in demand for their helpline services compared with February 2020, prepandemic. As of December, they had noted a 179% increase in people contacting them via social media. “Coping with extreme changes to routines and living situations, as we all have last year, has the potential to be incredibly triggering,” says Jess Griffiths, Beat’s clinical lead. “Eating disorders thrive on secrecy, and it is much easier to conceal symptoms and behaviours when you are not frequently seeing other people.”