Understanding How the COVID-19 Pandemic Influenced Older Adults’ Grocery Shopping Habits

The ability to grocery shop is an important aspect of maintaining adequate nutritional status among older adults. During the COVID-19 pandemic, many older adults changed their typical grocery shopping habits attempting to remain safe.To understand how the COVID-19 pandemic influenced older adults’ grocery shopping habits.In this qualitative study, a total of 23 older adults aged 60 years or older participated in individual interviews via Zoom.Data were analyzed using directed content analysis.Attempting to be cautious, most participants reported altering grocery shopping habits by shopping less frequently, using online services such as grocery pickup or delivery, or having friends or family members do the shopping. However, some participants continued shopping in stores due to poor quality produce items picked out by shoppers and safe policies implemented by stores. Also, grocery shopping in stores became incentivized as some participants viewed it as a form of entertainment, social interaction, and even physical activity during the pandemic. Although many stores offered senior shopping hours, the majority of study participants reported not using these services due to inconvenient times. Purchasing larger quantities of items and selecting more shelf stable, canned, and frozen items were also reported.Providing older adults with training and education on using online grocery shopping services may help this population have safe and simple access to healthy food items. In addition, training grocery store workers to pick out good quality produce may encourage more older adults to use these online services. Modifications to grocery store-instated senior hours should consider more convenient times to best support older adults. Because the grocery store emerged as an enjoyable place, it is especially crucial that grocery stores continue to enforce the policies that allow older adults to feel safe purchasing their groceries.

Associations between self-reported symptoms of SARS-CoV-2 and dietary supplement use over the previous year during the first pandemic wave.

During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, symptoms of infection varied widely among adults younger than 60 years. This cross-sectional investigation of adults ages 18-59 years explored associations between SARS-CoV-2 symptomatology and supplementation of micronutrients involved in immune function, such as multivitamins, vitamin D, vitamin C, vitamin E and zinc. Between August and December 2020, an online survey was completed by 287 respondents, averaging 33⋅3 ± 10⋅5 years, who recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection within the previous 4 months. In regression models, intake of supplements over the previous year was not protective against number of symptoms or symptom severity. Despite higher rates of supplementation over the previous year, smokers experienced more symptoms and greater symptom severity than non-smokers. Micronutrient supplementation did not protect young adults from experiencing symptoms of SARS-CoV-2, but our results suggest that smoking cessation may be a more effective modifiable lifestyle factor.

A Mixed Methods Exploration of the Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Food-Related Activities and Diet Quality in People with Parkinson Disease.

OBJECTIVE: The purpose of this mixed methods study was to explore the impact of COVID-19 on the ability of people with Parkinson disease (PwPs) and their care-partners to perform food-related activities (FRA) and PwPs' overall diet quality. METHODS: Using a convergent parallel mixed methods design, PwPs and their care-partners completed virtual dyadic semi-structured interviews about their FRA during the COVID-19 pandemic. PwPs completed Food Frequency Questionnaires (FFQ) to quantify their dietary intake in the previous 12 months. Qualitative data were analyzed by two coders using thematic analysis, and quantitative data from FFQs were descriptively analyzed to calculate diet quality scores. RESULTS: Eleven dyadic interviews revealed the following key themes: cooking more at home; changes with grocery shopping; less meals with non-household members. These changes were described to increase the care-partners' responsibilities and overall burden. Diet scores among PwPs were 73.0 ± 6.3 for the Healthy Eating Index 2015 (scale of 0-100), 29.2 ± 6.6 for the Mediterranean diet (scale of 0-55), and 10.4 ± 1.8 for the Mediterranean-DASH Intervention for Neurodegenerative Delay (MIND) diet (scale 0-15). CONCLUSIONS: Diet scores revealed that PwPs consumed a high-quality diet during the pandemic. Findings from this study highlight the need for tailored nutrition education to support PwPs' care-partners.

Habitual Diet Quality Was Not Associated With Self-Reported Symptoms of You010Adults With SARS-Cov-2 Infection During the First Pandemic Wave

Objectives During the initial wave of the COVID-19 pandemic, older adults were identified as a vulnerable population at high risk for severe illness and mortality. However, symptoms of infection varied widely among adults younger than 50 years old. While some younger adults experienced severe illness, as many as 40% of infected persons remained asymptomatic. Considering the known influence of diet on immune function, the purpose of this cross-sectional investigation was to explore associations between diet quality prior to infection and SARS-CoV-2 symptomatology. Methods Between August and December 2020, an online survey was completed by 158 men and women, 18–49 years old (mean 29.9 + 8.1 years), who had recovered from SARS-CoV-2 infection within the previous 4 months. Survey questions about types and severity of symptoms were assessed for content validity by physicians, nurses, and dietitians who treated patients with SARS-CoV-2. Face validity was verified by four adults who met inclusion criteria. To assess diet quality over the previous year, the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2015) was calculated from the 2014 Block Food Frequency Questionnaire (NutritionQuest;Berkeley, CA). Results Average HEI-2015 was 59.7 ± 9.8 (scale 0–100). HEI-2015 scores did not significantly differ between participants who did or did not report symptoms of fever, chills, cough, shortness of breath, aches, red eyes, headache, loss of taste/smell, rash, congestion, fatigue, nausea, or diarrhea. In a linear regression model adjusted for age, HEI-2015 was also not associated with a composite score of symptom severity (standardized β = −0.021, p = 0.791, R2 = 0.011). Conclusions Habitual diet quality prior to infection was not associated with SARS-CoV-2 symptom severity among this cohort of young adults. Although average HEI-2015 scores indicate suboptimal overall diet quality among respondents, inherent limitations of self-reported symptoms and dietary intake should be acknowledged. Funding Sources The University of Alabama Joint Institute Pandemic Pilot Project.

Individual and Interpersonal Factors Affecting Dietary Intake of Community-Dwelling Older Adults during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

OBJECTIVE: As older adults are at higher risk for severe illness and mortality from SARS-CoV-2 infection, social distancing has been a primary means of mitigating risk. However, this lifestyle change may impact eating habits and food choices. The aim of this study was to explore individual and interpersonal factors affecting the eating behaviors and dietary intake of community-dwelling older adults during the COVID-19 pandemic. DESIGN: Semi-structured individual interviews were conducted. All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Qualitative data were analyzed using a deductive content analysis approach to identify themes. SETTING: Southeastern United States. PARTICIPANTS: Twenty-three men and women, 60 years of age and older (mean age 71.9 ± 7.7, 22% male) completed both the interview and questionnaire. RESULTS: Themes that emerged at the individual level included changes in eating habits and foods eaten, with most participants reporting healthier food choices during the pandemic. Participants also reported more frequent cooking, improved cooking skills, and cooking as a form of stress relief. Although some older adults described increased snacking and consumption of "comfort foods", others noted no influence of mood on food choices. At the interpersonal level, an increased use of technology for social interaction and the importance of social support were identified as influencing factors. CONCLUSIONS: Findings provide insight on how to help older adults maintain good nutrition amidst lifestyle changes imposed by social distancing. Nutrition educators may capitalize on positive behavior changes that occurred during the pandemic such as increased cooking and increased use of technology for social interaction.