Healthy Aging at Family Mealtimes: Associations of Clean Cooking, Protein Intake, and Dining Together with Mental Health of Chinese Older Adults amid COVID-19 Pandemic.

The present study aims to examine whether multiple dietary factors affect the mental health of older adults amid the COVID-19 pandemic. It proposes an integrative dietary framework that highlights environmental, nutritional, and social aspects of diet for healthy aging. Based on a sample of 7858 Chinese older adults, the associations between diet and depressive symptoms, along with the rural-urban divide, were examined using zero-inflated negative binomial regression. Overall, protein intake (incidence-rate ratio [IRR] = 0.89, p < 0.001), frequency of family dining together (IRR = 0.98, p < 0.001), and using tap water for cooking (IRR = 0.92, p < 0.01) were associated with lower incidence rates of depressive symptoms among older adults. Among rural older adults, frequency of family dining together (IRR = 0.97, p < 0.001) and tap water use (IRR = 0.89, p < 0.001) were associated with fewer depressive symptoms. However, urban residents who had a higher frequency of family dining together (IRR = 0.98, p < 0.05) and protein intake (IRR = 0.81, p < 0.001) exhibited fewer depressive symptoms. The findings revealed multifaceted dietary pathways towards healthy aging, which call for policies and interventions that improve diet quality for community-dwelling older adults.

Complex dynamics in sustaining clean cooking and food access through a pandemic: A COVID-19 impact study in peri-urban Cameroon.

Access to clean energy for cooking is central to achieving Sustainable Development Goal 7. Latest predictions suggest that this goal will not be met by 2030, with further setbacks due to the COVID-19 pandemic. We investigated the impacts of COVID-19 restrictions on household cooking fuel, practices and dietary behaviours in a peri-urban community in Central Cameroon. Using surveys (n = 333) and qualitative semi-structured interviews (n = 12), we found negative financial impacts and high levels of food insecurity, with 83 % and 56 % of households reporting reduced income and insufficient food, respectively. Households reduced food intake and cooking frequency and relied more heavily on local sources (e.g., farmland) to feed their families. Changes in primary cooking fuel were less pronounced and fuel choice was inherently linked to cooking behaviours, with some households utilising LPG more often for simple tasks, such as reheating food. Local systems were key in sustaining food and fuel access and households demonstrated resilience by employing numerous mechanisms to overcome challenges. Our findings underline the vulnerability of households in maintaining sufficient food intake and sustaining clean cooking, highlighting how policy needs to take a nuanced approach considering food-energy dynamics and strengthening local systems to ensure access to clean energy is resistant to system shocks.

Pay-as-you-go liquefied petroleum gas supports sustainable clean cooking in Kenyan informal urban settlement during COVID-19 lockdown.

Approximately 2.8 billion people rely on polluting fuels (e.g. wood, kerosene) for cooking. With affordability being a key access barrier to clean cooking fuels, such as liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), pay-as-you-go (PAYG) LPG smart meter technology may help resource-poor households adopt LPG by allowing incremental fuel payments. To understand the potential for PAYG LPG to facilitate clean cooking, objective evaluations of customers' cooking and spending patterns are needed. This study uses novel smart meter data collected between January 2018-June 2020, spanning COVID-19 lockdown, from 426 PAYG LPG customers living in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya to evaluate stove usage (e.g. cooking events/day, cooking event length). Seven semi-structured interviews were conducted in August 2020 to provide context for potential changes in cooking behaviours during lockdown. Using stove monitoring data, objective comparisons of cooking patterns are made with households using purchased 6 kg cylinder LPG in peri-urban Eldoret, Kenya. In Nairobi, 95% of study households continued using PAYG LPG during COVID-19 lockdown, with consumption increasing from 0.97 to 1.22 kg/capita/month. Daily cooking event frequency also increased by 60% (1.07 to 1.72 events/day). In contrast, average days/month using LPG declined by 75% during lockdown (17 to four days) among seven households purchasing 6 kg cylinder LPG in Eldoret. Interviewed customers reported benefits of PAYG LPG beyond fuel affordability, including safety, time savings and cylinder delivery. In the first study assessing PAYG LPG cooking patterns, LPG use was sustained despite a COVID-19 lockdown, illustrating how PAYG smart meter technology may help foster clean cooking access.

COVID-19 impacts on household energy & food security in a Kenyan informal settlement: The need for integrated approaches to the SDGs.

This longitudinal study presents the joint effects of a COVID-19 community lockdown on household energy and food security in an informal settlement in Nairobi, Kenya. Randomly administered surveys were completed from December 2019-March 2020 before community lockdown (n = 474) and repeated in April 2020 during lockdown (n = 194). Nearly universal (95%) income decline occurred during the lockdown and led to 88% of households reporting food insecurity. During lockdown, a quarter of households (n = 17) using liquefied petroleum gas (LPG), a cleaner cooking fuel typically available in pre-set quantities (e.g. 6 kg cylinders), switched to polluting cooking fuels (kerosene, wood), which could be purchased in smaller amounts or gathered for free. Household size increases during lockdown also led to participants' altering their cooking fuel, and changing their cooking behaviors and foods consumed. Further, households more likely to switch away from LPG had lower consumption prior to lockdown and had suffered greater income loss, compared with households that continued to use LPG. Thus, inequities in clean cooking fuel access may have been exacerbated by COVID-19 lockdown. These findings demonstrate the complex relationship between household demographics, financial strain, diet and cooking patterns, and present the opportunity for a food-energy nexus approach to address multiple Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): achieving zero hunger (SDG 2) and universal affordable, modern and clean energy access (SDG 7) by 2030. Ensuring that LPG is affordable, accessible and meets the dietary and cooking needs of families should be a policy priority for helping improve food and energy security among the urban poor.

Impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on clean fuel programmes in India and ensuring sustainability for household energy needs.

Clean cooking energy strategies are critical for reducing air pollution, improving health, and achieving related Sustainable Development Goals. The recent COVID-19 lockdowns may impact the transition towards clean cooking fuels. The nationwide lockdown is likely to affect key factors such as energy access, income, transportation, etc., that play a role in decisions influencing household fuel use. The rural population already bears the burden of poverty and may not be able to afford and access clean cooking fuels during the lockdown. They are thus vulnerable to reversion to their traditional cooking methods using solid biomass fuels. The household air pollution caused due to the use of polluting fuels increases their susceptibility to non-communicable diseases, and thus may intensify the risk and severity of COVID-19 infection. Hence, there is an urgent need to expand sustainable energy solutions worldwide. The present study applies the DPSIR modeling framework to establish a set of comprehensive indicators for addressing the transition towards clean cooking fuels during the COVID-19 pandemic. The study also provides insights on various strategies adopted in India in response to the COVID-19 pandemic for maintaining continuity of delivering benefits under a clean cookstove program. The study offers future directions to ensure the transition towards cleaner fuels and sustainability.