CHANGES IN HEALTHY LIFESTYLE DURING COVID-19 AND STATE POLICY: A SYSTEMATIC REVIEW
Authors:   National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, Zasimova Liudmila , Kolosnitsyna Marina ,   National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, Kossova Tatiana ,   National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, Sheluntсova Maria ,   National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, Biryukova Alina ,   Laboratory for Economic Research in Public Sector, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, Makshanchikov Konstantin ,   Laboratory for Economic Research in Public Sector, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia, Zolotareva Alina ,   Laboratory for Economic Research in Public Sector, National Research University Higher School of Economics, Moscow, Russia
Published: August 2024

Significance. The COVID-19 pandemic and the state anti-epidemic policies have significantly changed everyday habits and lifestyles. In many countries, governments have introduced self-isolation, lockdowns, generous family benefits to support population against the background of the existing and newly developed healthy lifestyle measures. Their effects (often multidirectional) overlapped each other, making it difficult to estimate the impact of each policy measure on people's behavior. The purpose of the study was to conduct a systematic review of studies related to changes in people's lifestyles during crises, including the crisis caused by the recent pandemic as well as to identify key methodological problems associated with measuring changes in lifestyle during crises. Material and Methods. The authors have undertaken a systematic review of literature on changes in healthy lifestyle during the COVID-19 crisis. A total of 44 papers published from 2020 to 2023 in Russian and English were selected for the analysis. Results. The analysis shows that the current crisis differs from the previous ones (including a direct threat to health and unprecedented state interventions in the economy and people's lives). The authors have identified the dominant trends in key lifestyle characteristics during the pandemic: an increase in the consumption of alcohol and tobacco products (uneven across different countries and social groups); a general decrease in the level of physical activity (along with the increased intensity of sports among certain groups), a rise in the number of meals consumed per day, including unhealthy diet. We show that the identified trends cannot be easily attributed to COVID-19 or particular public policy measures due to methodological problems: unreliable data, frequent changes in regulatory measures during the COVID-19 pandemic, delayed effects of individual measures, difficulty in identifying a net effect of each measure, multidirectional effects on different population groups. Conclusion. It is necessary to further develop and improve methods for evaluating healthy lifestyle policies, taking into account specifics of each economic crisis and methodological limitations that researchers and policy makers face. Scope of application. The study results can be used to improve methodology for evaluating the effect of state policy and impact of economic crises on changes in health-related behaviors.