Changes in Food Consumption Trends among American Adults since the COVID-19 Pandemic.

The quality and quantity of food consumption have changed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In this study, we examined how the COVID-19 pandemic has changed the consumption of different food groups in order to close the research gap by providing current evidence that reflects a later stage of the pandemic compared to other circulating research conducted at earlier stages. Data collection for this cross-sectional study was performed via an online Qualtrics survey from 10,050 adults aged 40-100 years. Nutritional status was measured using the 24-item short-form Dietary Screening Tool (DST) twice: before and since the COVID-19 pandemic. The DST questions were categorized based on MyPlate items, along with fat, sugar, and sweet items, as well as nutritional supplement intake. In addition, the total DST score was calculated for each participant, which categorized them into one of three groups: "at risk", "possible risk", and "not at risk". The results revealed that the consumption of grains, fruit, lean protein, and dairy decreased significantly, while the consumption of fat, sugar, and sweet items increased significantly due to COVID-19. The biggest decreases in consumption of food subcategories were related to whole grain bread and cereal, followed by fruit as a snack, in comparison with other types of grain and fruit. No changes in the consumption of vegetables, processed meat, or supplement intake were seen. The total DST score showed that, before and since COVID-19, the overall nutrition status of adult Americans has been at risk. In addition, of those participants who were not at risk before COVID-19, 28.5% were either at risk or at possible risk since COVID-19; moreover, of those participants who were at possible risk before COVID-19, 21% were at risk since COVID-19. As a good nutritional status can reduce the risk of severe illness or even mortality rate in times of crisis, the findings of this study can help policymakers and health educators to develop heath-protecting behavior sessions against future pandemics to manage crises.

P070 COVID-19 Pandemic Changes in Fruit and Vegetable Consumption Among Various Demographic Populations

The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in social, economy, food security, and stress level of different individual groups. These changes can potentially impact on eating behavior of individuals with different demographic backgrounds. The aim of this study was to determine which demographic categories showed more significant changes in fruit and vegetable consumption since COVID-19 pandemic. The study design was cross-sectional and a total of 10,035 participants aged 40-100 years old. An online survey (Dietary Screening Tool) was employed through Qualtrics between August and September 2020. Pre and since pandemic responses were analyzed by SPSS software, Wilcoxon's signed-rank tests. Participants were categorized into different groups. Participants were 57% female and 43% male including White (75%), African-American (14%), Asian (7%), and Hispanic (4%). The age distribution was 40-60 (38%), 61-80 (59%), and 81-100 (3%) years old. Since COVID-19, fruit consumption significantly reduced among female (P < 0.001), male (P =.02), age groups of 40-61 (P < 0.001) and 61-80 years old (P < 0.001), and race categories of Hispanic (P = 0.008) and White (P < 0.001), and all education categories (P < 0.001). Vegetables consumption also reduced among different demographic categories since COVID-19, although it was not statistically significant except in age categories of 40-60 (P = 0.002), and 81-100 (P = 0.002) years old. Interestingly, vegetable consumption remained the same since pandemic for college educated participants. The decrease in fruit and vegetable consumption was greater in less educated participants. Nutrition education could focus on developing strategies on how to maintain fruit and vegetable consumption during crisis situations. NIFA

COVID-19 Pandemic Beverages Consumption Among White and Non-White Older Adults in the United States

Objectives The aim is to examine how consumption of different beverages (i.e., juice, milk, and alcohol) among White and Non-white populations changed since COVID-19 pandemic. Methods An online cross-sectional survey was conducted among a national sample of older adults by Qualtrics between August 9 and September 15, 2020, in urban areas across the four U.S. census regions. A total of 9,903 adults 40–100 years old. The online survey included questions on demographic variables and a Dietary Screening Tool (DST) and asked participants to respond to questions from pre-pandemic and pandemic conditions. The internal consistency reliability for the DST was 0.61 and 0.62for the pre-pandemic and pandemic respectively. The beverages were questions about “How often do you drink some kind of juice at breakfast?”, “How often do you drink a glass of milk?”, and “Do you usually drink wine, beer or other alcoholic beverages?”. To analyze the data, pre and post pandemic responses were compared by Wilcoxon signed-rank tests and McNamar tests via SPSS software. Results Participants were 75% White and 25% Non-white including African American (14%), Hispanic (4%), and Asian (7%). They were 57% female and 43% male. According to the analysis, juice and milk consumption reduced significantly among non-white participants (P = .007, and P = 0.04) while no change was observed in White participants since the pandemic. Interestingly, Alcoholic beverages consumption significantly reduced among both Non-white (P = 0.05) and White participants (P < .001). Also, according to the gender analysis, both male and female White participants only showed a significantly reduced consumption of alcoholic beverage (P = .02). However, Non-white male participants had significantly reduction in all three beverages (Juice (P = .01), milk (P < .001), and alcoholic beverages (P = .004) while white female participants only consumed a reduced number of alcoholic beverages (P < .001). Conclusions Different beverage consumption were reduced among male Non-white participants since COVID-19 pandemic, while just alcohol consumption was reduced among (male/female White and female Non-white) participant. The reductions in certain beverage consumption may be directly related to financial instability and health knowledge of male Non-white groups. Funding Sources USDA/NIFA.

How COVID-19 Pandemic Changed Consumption of Fruits and Vegetables by Older Adults

This study aims to determine the changes in consumption of fruits and vegetables of older adults before and since the COVID-19 pandemic. The data collection was administered by Qualtrics through an online survey conducted in August and September 2020. The total participants were 10,050. Differences between consumption of fruits (fresh, canned, frozen) and vegetables (carrots, sweet potatoes, broccoli, spinach) before and since COVID-19. Date were analyzed using the Wilcoxon’s signed-rank test. Among participants, 5,767 females (57.4%) and 4,283 males (42.6%) and the average age of 62.09 (SD=11.22). 7.1% were Asian (N=701), 4.3% were Hispanic (N=429), 14.1% were African Americans (N=1393), and 74.5% were White (N=7,390). For total participants, consumption of fruits decreased significantly (p<0.001) since COVID-19. The decrease in consumption of fruits was larger in females (p<0.001) than males (p=0.026). It is likely because consumption of fruits by males was already low before the pandemic at 27% of the amount consumed by females. The decrease in consumption of fruits was not statistically significant in Asian (p=0.096) and African American (p=0.07), but significant in Hispanic (p=0.008) and White (p<0.001) participants. African American and Hispanic participants consumed a lower number of fruits before the pandemic compared to Asian and White participants. Consumption of vegetables had no significant change since COVID-19 for total participants regardless of gender and race. This study reported a significant decrease in the consumption of fruits, but not vegetables by older adults since COVID-19 pandemic.