Eating alone or together: Exploring university students' eating patterns before and during the COVID-19 pandemic

Commensality with close friends and acquaintances increases opportunities for social connectedness, creates a sense of belonging, and may reduce the risks of isolation among students. The outbreak of COVID-19 pandemic and the subsequent lockdown disrupted daily routines and relationships. This put an increased number of university students at risk of emotional and social loneliness. Little research has focused on commensal eating practices and loneliness among university students before or during the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK or elsewhere. This study explored these themes using one-to-one interviews with 13 undergraduate and postgraduate students at a university in England. A hybrid approach to thematic analysis of deductive and inductive reasoning was adopted which is data-driven but informed a priori by the research questions. Emergent findings include (1) pre-COVID-19 eating practices: meal-skipping, varying lunch-time rituals, and dinner as the most important meal regarding content and commensality; (2) Eating practices during COVID-19 lockdown: healthier eating patterns, limited opportunities for commensality, increased feelings of loneliness, and increased reliance on digital media. The COVID-19 lockdown was an opportunity for students to transform erratic eating into more regular eating practices and patterns and to cook more homemade meals. Many students were alone during dinner time and expressed increased feelings of loneliness leading to increased reliance on digital media and virtual commensality to socially interact with close family and friends whilst enjoying the meal.