Introduction:

The SARS-CoV-2/COVID-19 pandemic, as well as health restrictions, impacted food availability, access and consumption, affecting dietary habits and nutritional status.

Objective:

To determine the effect of the SARS-CoV-2/ COVID-19 pandemic on the adherence to Chilean Food-Based Dietary Guidelines, within a university community, both before and during the pandemic.

Materials and methods:

A retrospective cohort study involving 427 participants was conducted. An online survey was administered, with questions based on the FBDGs’ messages. The survey was validated through expert judgment and psychometric analysis, and agreement was assessed using the Kappa statistic (K = 89.95) while reliability was determined using the Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient (( = 0.97). The period before the pandemic was defined as the time prior to March 2020, and the pandemic period was set between March 2020 and October 2021. Changes before and during the pandemic were measured using the symmetry test, considering a p value of <0.05 and a 95% confidence level, using the STATA 16 statistical software.

Results:

Statistically significant changes were observed before and during the pandemic in messages related to nutritional status (p = 0.000), weekly consumption of bakery products (p = 0.0040), cold meats (p = 0.0034), fried foods (p = 0.0070), legumes (p = 0.0000), water (p = 0.0000), and messages related to reading and nutrition information of products (p = 0.0000).

Conclusions:

The pandemic led to dietary changes in relation to FBDGs messages. Food policies and food and nutrition education strategies are required to address health emergency contexts.