Factors Influencing Changes in Food Preparation during the COVID-19 Pandemic and Associations with Food Intake among Japanese Adults.

The primary aim of this study was to evaluate factors associated with changes in food-preparation practices during the Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic in Japan and its associations to food-group intake. To examine this, a cross-sectional online survey was conducted in July 2020. Participants were 2285 adults aged 20-69 years who resided in any of 13 prefectures in Japan where specific COVID-19 regulations had been implemented. Self-reported changes in food-preparation practices when compared to the pre-COVID-19 pandemic period were measured as "increased" (24.6%), "decreased" (7.3%), and "no change" (68.1%), respectively. Stepwise logistic regression analyses indicated that participants who increased the time and effort for food preparation were younger in age, partially working remotely, experiencing reduced household income due to COVID-19, but highly concerned the importance of diet. On the other hand, participants whose household income decreased, and household economic status worsened, as well as those whose importance of diet deteriorated due to COVID-19 were more likely to decrease time and effort for cooking. Although the increased group were more likely to prepare meals with raw ingredients, the decreased group showed higher frequency of using takeout. These results indicated major determinants of changes in time spending on food preparation in consequence of COVID-19, and highlighted essential targets for future nutrition education.

Affordability of current, and healthy, more equitable, sustainable diets by area of socioeconomic disadvantage and remoteness in Queensland: insights into food choice.

BACKGROUND: Poor diet is the leading preventable risk factor contributing to the burden of disease globally and in Australia, and is inequitably distributed. As the price of healthy foods is a perceived barrier to improved diets, evidence on the cost and affordability of current (unhealthy) and recommended (healthy, more equitable and sustainable) diets is required to support policy action. METHODS: This study applied the Healthy Diets ASAP (Australian Standardised Affordability and Pricing) methods protocol to measure the cost, cost differential and affordability of current and recommended diets for a reference household in Queensland, Australia. Food prices were collected in 18 randomly selected locations stratified by area of socioeconomic disadvantage and remoteness. Diet affordability was calculated for three income categories. RESULTS: Surprisingly, recommended diets would cost 20% less than the current diet in Queensland as a whole. Households spent around 60% of their food budget on discretionary choices (that is, those not required for health that are high in saturated fat, added sugar, salt and/or alcohol). Queensland families would need to spend around 23% of their income on recommended diets. However, recommended diets would not be affordable in low socioeconomic or very remote areas, costing 30 and 35% of median household income respectively. The government supplements due to the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic would improve affordability of recommended diets by 29%. CONCLUSIONS: Study findings highlight that while price is one factor affecting consumer food choice, other drivers such as taste, convenience, advertising and availability are important. Nevertheless, the study found that recommended diets would be unaffordable in very remote areas, and that low-income families are likely experiencing food stress, irrespective of where they live in Queensland. Policy actions, such as increasing to 20% the current 10% tax differential between basic healthy, and unhealthy foods in Australia, and supplementing incomes of vulnerable households, especially in remote areas, are recommended to help improve diet equity and sustainability, and health and wellbeing for all.

[Change in dietary consciousness and its related factors among Japanese adults under the COVID-19 pandemic: Analysis using Dietary Consciousness Scale].

Objectives　This study aims to develop a dietary consciousness scale and examine its reliability and validity, as well as investigate the changes in psychological aspects that influence diet among Japanese adults during the COVID-19 pandemic and clarify its related factors.Methods　An online survey was conducted from July 1, 2020 to July 3, 2020. Participants were adults aged between 20 and 69 years selected from 13 prefectures where the government declared the state of emergency from April to May 2020. All selected participants were shopping or cooking foods for more than 2 days a week at the time of the survey. A total of 2,299 participants were included in the analysis. Dietary consciousness was measured using 12 items, and the construct was examined using factor analysis. Cronbach's alpha was examined as an indicator of internal validity, and the criterion-referenced validity was confirmed using the Kruskal-Wallis test. To determine changes in dietary consciousness, we calculated total scores based on changes in each item of the Dietary Consciousness Scale as follows: no change (0 points), improved (+1 point), and worsening (-1 point). The associations between the changes in dietary consciousness and characteristics or socioeconomic factors of the participants were examined using the chi-squared test and residual analysis.Results　Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses demonstrated that a model consisting of two factors fitted the data (GFI = 0.958, AGFI = 0.938, CFI = 0.931, RMSEA = 0.066). Cronbach's alpha of the first factor (importance of diet) was 0.838 and 0.734 for the second factor (precedence of diet), and the reliability was confirmed at 0.828 for the entire scale. In the examination of criterion-related validity, the higher the stage of change, the higher the total score of the scale, and a significant difference was observed (P<0.001). The percentage of participants whose precedence worsened was higher than the importance. Significant differences were observed regarding gender, age group, marital status, employment status, household annual income, and income change during the COVID-19 pandemic considering changes in both the importance and precedence of diet. Those who were in the "worsening tendency" group in both the importance and precedence were men, 20-29 years old, unmarried, full-time employees, with a household income of 4-6 million yen during the past year.Conclusion　During the COVID-19 pandemic, the precedence of diet worsened, compared to its importance, and men, young, or unmarried persons show a worsening of dietary consciousness.

Impact of COVID-19 on Nutrition, Food Security, and Dietary Diversity and Quality in Burkina Faso, Ethiopia and Nigeria.

Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) can have far-reaching consequences for developing countries through the combined effects of infection and mortality, and the mitigation measures that can impact food systems and diets. Using a mobile platform, this cross-sectional study evaluated the effect of COVID-19 on food prices and dietary quality for 1797 households in Nouna and Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso, Addis Ababa and Kersa in Ethiopia, and Lagos and Ibadan in Nigeria. We assessed the consumption of 20 food groups during the previous 7 days. The dietary diversity scores (DDS) and Prime Diet Quality Scores (PDQS) were used to assess dietary diversity and quality. We used generalized estimating equation (GEE) linear models to evaluate associations between price changes for staples, pulses, vegetables, fruits, and animal source foods (ASFs) with the DDS and PDQS PDQS. Most participants reported increasing prices of staples, pulses, fruits, vegetables and ASF, and ≥ 40% reported the decreased consumption of staples, legumes, and other vegetables and fruits. The DDS (except in Kersa and Ouagadougou) and PDQS were lower during the COVID-19 pandemic. Higher pulse prices were associated with lower DDS (estimate, -0.35; 95% confidence interval [CI], -0.74 to 0.03; P = 0.07) in the combined analysis and in Burkina Faso (estimate, -0.47; 95% CI, -0.82 to -0.11). Higher vegetable prices were positively associated with the DDS (estimate, 0.22; 95% CI, 0.08 to 0.37). Lower crop production (estimate, -0.54; 95% CI, -0.80 to -0.27) was associated with lower DDS. The price increases and worsening dietary diversity and quality call for social protection and other strategies to increase the availability and affordability of nutrient-rich foods during the COVID-19 pandemic and public health emergencies.