Relationship between Dietary Habits, Food Attitudes and Food Security Status among Adults Living within the United States Three Months Post-Mandated Quarantine: A Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

COVID-19 has disrupted the lives of many and may have influenced dietary habits through factors such as food security status and attitudes. The purpose of this study was to identify dietary habits and their associations with food insecurity and attitudes among adults living in the United States within three months post-mandated quarantine. An online cross-sectional study was conducted from April to June 2020. Participants (n = 3133) responded to a 71-item questionnaire regarding demographics (n = 7), health information (n = 5), lifestyle habits (n = 8), dietary habits (n = 37), food attitudes (n = 8), and food security status (n = 6). Frequency counts and percentages were tabulated, and multivariate linear regression was conducted to examine associations using STATA v14 at a statistical significance level of p < 0.05. Results showed that most participants indicated no change in dietary habits (43.6–87.4%), yet participants reported increased consumption of sweets (43.8%) and salty snacks (37.4%). A significant positive association for food attitude scores (1.59, 95% CI 1.48 to 1.70; p < 0.001) and food security scores (1.19, 95% CI 0.93 to 1.45; p < 0.001) on total dietary habit scores was found. Future extensive population studies are recommended to help public health authorities frame actions to alleviate the impact that mandated quarantine has on dietary habits.

Lifestyle Habits and Mental Health in Light of the Two COVID-19 Pandemic Waves in Sweden, 2020

“…The small changes in diet, alcohol, and smoking habits in the present study are in line with studies from other countries [ 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 15 , 17 , 19 ]. However, perceived changes varied between and within subgroups.…”

“…Conversely, in Italy, total PA decreased significantly during the first COVID-19 wave as compared to before, in all age groups and especially in men [ 9 ]. Moreover, several studies have shown small changes in dietary habits [ 10 , 11 , 12 ], while others have reported an increase in unhealthy food intake, overeating, and snacking between meals [ 10 , 13 , 14 , 15 ]. Similarly, studies have indicated that alcohol consumption has not changed during home confinement [ 13 , 16 ], while others have reported increased alcohol consumption [ 15 , 17 , 18 ].…”

The Relationship between Food Security Status and Fruit and Vegetable Intake during the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…However, they were also more likely to report increasing their canned fruit and vegetable consumption compared with food-secure respondents. These findings are consistent with other studies that have found increases in the consumption of shelf-stable foods and decreases in that of fresh foods since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic [35,36,[44][45][46][47]. Several studies have also found that a higher proportion of food-insecure individuals report buying less fresh foods [35,36].…”

“…Several studies have examined changes in fruit and vegetable consumption since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a nationwide study of U.S. adults, 28.2% reported consuming less non-starchy vegetables, and 33.4% reported decreased consumption of fruit [44]. Two studies in Italy focused specifically on change in fresh fruit and vegetable intake: in one study, 18% of the respondents reported consuming less fresh vegetables, and about 17% reported consuming less fresh fruit, while in the other study 8.7% of the respondents reported consuming less fresh fruits and vegetables [45,46].…”

Patterns of Change in Dietary Habits and Physical Activity during Lockdown in Spain Due to the COVID-19 Pandemic

“…On the other hand, we did not collect information on the educational or socioeconomic level of participants. Many of the cross-sectional studies conducted during the pandemic aimed to analyze modifications in health-related behaviors [8,9,33,[51][52][53] report an over representation of higher educated people, and in many cases, younger age groups are overrepresented as well. In our study, we cannot assess the potential unequal distribution regarding the level of education.…”