FAST-FOOD CONSUMPTION DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC: CHANGES IN FOOD PATTERN

In 2019, in China, a virus emerged that caused a deadly respiratory disease that acquired a pandemic character, known as COVID-19, with official records of the first cases in Brazil dating from February 2020. Such a pandemic has strongly impacted public health and the global economy. However, Brazil also felt strongly the impacts of the health crisis that claimed the lives of more than 600,000 Brazilians, even adopting restriction measures at different times across the country, in an attempt to contain the spread of the virus. This scenario was responsible for driving various forms of adaptation in people's daily lives, promoting changes in eating habits and generating an increase in the consumption of fast-food through delivery. This work aimed to evaluate and compare, monthly and annually, the number of sales of french fries from three large companies in the city of Fortaleza-CE, in the period from 2020 to 2022, investigating possible signs of change in habit in the consumption of this food during the social isolation occurred in that interstice, with sales values obtained directly, formally and with the consent of the administrator of the unified electronic system of the evaluated companies, safeguarding the anonymity of the brands and without collecting personal data from customers. Regular seasonal increases were observed in the sale of french fries by the three companies in the intervals from June to July and from December to January, possibly associated with school holidays and year-end festivities, respectively. There was also an upward trend in sales, with an average increase of 20% when compared to the initial year of the analyzed period, indicating that this increase may have been enhanced by social isolation. More in-depth studies on a macrosocial scale are urgently needed to help outline actions and develop healthier food options for consumers.