HEALTH STATUS AND DIETARY PATTERNS IN POLAND

The main goal of this paper is to evaluate the health status of Poles in the context of their dietary patterns. Results of a desk research study on dietary habits of persons working during the coronavirus pandemic and attitudes of Poles towards meal delivery services provided to the authors by external research institutions were utilized for the purpose of the article. In the framework of practical scientific cooperation, the following reports containing results of research on dietary patterns of people working during the pandemic have been made available for the purpose of this study: “Healthy, speedy or conveniently?” and “Healthy eating”. The results were used with retain of copyright and ethical principles. Data analysis led to the conclusion that people have tended to pay more attention to the food intake as well as spend more time on self-preparation of meals during the pandemic. Based on analysis of the study results, a thesis was formulated that during a pandemic, we pay more attention to what we eat, and we also spend more time preparing meals on our own. Assuming that the population of Poland in 2020 was 38,265 thousand people, it could be stated in the light of the study results that almost 650 thousand Poles were on a well-balanced diet adapted to individual consumer needs.