Assessment of importance of food and nutrition during COVID-19 outbreak among Indian citizens – A cross-sectional study

Background: COVID-19 (also commonly called coronavirus) pandemic is causing a lot of changes in the daily lives of people around the world. However, good nutrition is very important before, during, and after an infection. Optimal nutrition and dietary nutrient intake impacts the immune system, therefore, the only sustainable way to survive is to maintain a healthy diet to strengthen the immune system. The main aim of the study was to assess the importance of food, nutrition, and social distancing among the subjects. Methods: A cross-sectional, online-based survey was conducted on voluntary participants. Distribution of self-structured questionnaire was done through snowball sampling technique. Chi-square test was used to analyze the data. Results: The survey results showed that out of 402 subjects, 79.6% (P < 0.001) of subjects were eating citrus food for strengthening the immune system. About 94% (P < 0.001) of subjects were taking fresh foods and 95.5% (P < 0.001) of subjects were washing hands before every meal. About 75.6% (P < 0.001) of subjects were following social distancing protocol. Conclusion: The present study showed that subjects were aware about importance of food and nutrition during COVID-19 outbreak and they also agreed that good nutrition and social distancing while eating food were the best protection for them and others against COVID-19.