Sociodemographic Variation in Children's Health Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Bekelman, Traci A.; Knapp, Emily A.; Dong, Yanan; Dabelea, Dana; Bastain, Tracy; Breton, Carrie V.; Carroll, Kecia N.; Camargo, Carlos A.; Davis, Ann M.; Dunlop, Anne L.; Elliott, Amy J.; Ferrara, Assiamira; Fry, Rebecca C.; Ganiban, Jody M.; Gilbert‐Diamond, Diane; Gilliland, Frank D.; Hedderson, Monique M.; Hipwell, Alison E.; Hockett, Christine W.; Huddleston, Kathi; Kelly, Nichole R.; Lai, Jin‐Shei; Lester, Barry M.; Lucchini, Maristella; Melough, Melissa M.; Mihalopoulos, Nicole L.; O’Shea, T. Michael; Rundle, Andrew; Stanford, Joseph B.; VanBronkhorst, Sara B.; Wright, Rosalind J.; Zhao, Qi; Sauder, Katherine A.

doi:10.1089/chi.2022.0085

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 55 publications

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“…The magnitude and direction of behavior changes may not be uniform across the population, although this has not been directly investigated among U.S. children. Cross-sectional studies conducted in the U.S. pre-pandemic [ 26 , 27 , 28 ] and during the first few months of the pandemic [ 29 ] show a relationship between health behaviors and individual child characteristics, including race/ethnicity, sex, age, and socioeconomic status. The pandemic has contributed to changes in household conditions that can influence health behaviors, such as parent employment, access to health-related services, and food insecurity [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]; although the groups most affected by the pandemic at the household level were not always those with historical disadvantage [ 33 ].…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…The pandemic has contributed to changes in household conditions that can influence health behaviors, such as parent employment, access to health-related services, and food insecurity [ 30 , 31 , 32 ]; although the groups most affected by the pandemic at the household level were not always those with historical disadvantage [ 33 ]. Additionally, novel household factors during the pandemic, including changes to parents’ work schedules to care for their children during remote schooling and pandemic-related financial concerns as a source of stress have also been linked to children’s health behaviors [ 29 ]. Thus, societal changes during the pandemic could have reduced or exacerbated disparities in health behaviors.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Health Behavior Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis among Children

Bekelman

Dong

Elliott

et al. 2022

IJERPH

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This longitudinal study compared children’s health behaviors before the COVID-19 pandemic versus during the pandemic. This analysis examined the association between individual-level characteristics and health behavior change. Four prospective cohort studies in the Environmental influences on Child Health Outcomes (ECHO) Program contributed data. Children aged 4–12 years and their caregivers were recruited in California, Colorado, North Dakota, and New Hampshire. Dietary intake, physical activity, screen time, and sleep duration were assessed with questionnaires pre-pandemic and during the pandemic. The final sample included 347 children: 47% female and 62% non-Hispanic White. Compared with pre-pandemic, weekday screen time duration was higher during the pandemic (3.0 vs. 4.5 h, p < 0.001). Unadjusted increases in screen time duration differed by race and ethnicity: 1.3 h/day for non-Hispanic White children, 2.3 h/day for Hispanic children, and 5.3 h/day for non-Hispanic Black children. Overall, no changes occurred in sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake (p = 0.26), discretionary food intake (p = 0.93), and physical activity (p = 0.15). Sleep duration increased by 30 min among children who did not meet sleep recommendations pre-pandemic. Child sex and maternal education level were not associated with health behavior change. The pandemic may have exacerbated disparities in some health behaviors. Families may need support to re-establish healthy routines.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Health Behavior Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis among Children

Bekelman

Dong

Elliott

et al. 2022

IJERPH

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…The availability of detailed data related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including clinical outcomes and behavioral factors, may be utilized to address questions with high public health relevance. For example, ECHO researchers documented no change in children’s sugar-sweetened beverage or discretionary food intake during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with before [ 66 ]; however, in the midst of the pandemic, differences in children’s intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, fruits, and vegetables were related to financial strain and parental coping strategies [ 67 ]. ECHO data could also be used to examine nutritional status as a predictor of pregnant persons’ and children’s COVID-19 outcomes.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Opportunities for Examining Child Health Impacts of Early-Life Nutrition in the ECHO Program: Maternal and Child Dietary Intake Data from Pregnancy to Adolescence

Bragg,

Westlake,

Alshawabkeh

et al. 2023

Current Developments in Nutrition

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Changes in unhealthy food consumption among vulnerable elementary-aged children in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic: a serial cross-sectional analysis

Parthasarathy,

Ranjit,

Chuang

et al. 2024

Front. Nutr.

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ObjectiveSeveral studies suggest that during the early pandemic, amidst socioeconomic instability, children from underserved families were more likely to resort to consuming cheaper, lower-quality foods with longer shelf lives. This study investigated the change in unhealthy food consumption across different phases (pre, early, mid) of the COVID-19 pandemic, and whether the strength of association between unhealthy food consumption and household socioeconomic disadvantage (HSED) varied across phases of the pandemic.MethodsThis study utilized serial cross-sectional data collected from low-income families enrolled in a school-based food co-op, Brighter Bites. Secondary data analysis included 5,384 surveys from families who had complete data: 3422 pre-pandemic, 944 from the early pandemic, and 1,018 mid-pandemic. Outcome measures included sugary food intake and convenience/fast food intake, each of which was operationalized as a scale using pre-validated items from the surveys. HSED was operationalized as a composite of parent employment, parent education, food insecurity, and participation in government programs; responses were categorized into low, medium, and high HSED groups for analysis. We examined the interaction between HSED and time period to explore how HSED and its association with dietary measures changed over the course of the pandemic.ResultsA significant linear negative trend, i.e., a decrease in consumption from pre-to-mid-pandemic period was seen in sugary food intake (p < 0.001), but not in convenience food intake. In data pooled across time-periods, both sugary food and convenience/fast food consumption were inversely associated with HSED, and low unhealthy food consumption was observed among high-disadvantage groups. No significant interaction between time period and HSED was observed on either scale. However, the post-regression estimates from the adjusted interaction model showed a significant association between convenience/fast food consumption and HSED in pre- and mid-pandemic periods.ConclusionThe study highlights the nuances of socioeconomic dynamics on the diet behaviors of children from low-income families during a natural disaster.

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Sociodemographic Variation in Children's Health Behaviors During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Cited by 4 publications

References 55 publications

Health Behavior Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis among Children

Health Behavior Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Analysis among Children

Opportunities for Examining Child Health Impacts of Early-Life Nutrition in the ECHO Program: Maternal and Child Dietary Intake Data from Pregnancy to Adolescence

Changes in unhealthy food consumption among vulnerable elementary-aged children in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic: a serial cross-sectional analysis

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