Effects of discounting fruits, vegetables, and noncaloric beverages in New York City supermarkets on purchasing, intake, and weight.

OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to assess purchasing, intake, and weight after discounting fruits and vegetables (F&V) and noncaloric beverages in New York City supermarkets. METHODS: A 16-week randomized controlled trial was conducted with a 4-week baseline, an 8-week intervention with 50% discounts on F&V and noncaloric beverages, and a 4-week follow-up. Purchasing was tracked via loyalty cards, and intake was tracked via 24-h dietary recalls. Weights were measured at five in-person visits. RESULTS: Data from 67 participants were analyzed (38 in the experimental group; 29 in the control group). F&V and noncaloric beverage weekly purchasing was greater in the experimental than the control group (mean difference [SD], $4.64 [$1.44], p < 0.0001; $0.53 [$0.39], p = 0.008) during intervention, with F&V purchasing remaining greater in the experimental versus control group during follow-up (p = 0.005). F&V intake was greater for the experimental than the control group during intervention (142 [105] g/day; p = 0.009) and follow-up (p = 0.001). Although no difference in noncaloric beverage consumption was observed between groups, there was lower alcohol intake in the experimental than the control group during follow-up (-85.8 [60.2] g/day; p = 0.004). The experimental group lost weight compared with the control group (-1.33 [0.92] kg; p = 0.006 intervention and p = 0.106 follow-up). No differences in nutrient composition or high energy-dense product consumption were found. CONCLUSIONS: A 50% discount on F&V and noncaloric beverages promoted increased purchasing and intake of F&V and induced weight loss.

Changes in food intake during the COVID-19 pandemic in New York City.

The COVID-19 pandemic and stay-at-home orders across the nation have had substantial consequences on access to food and dietary behaviors. We investigated the dietary intake of adults in NYC, before and during the COVID-19 period. A subset of participants (n = 31) from an NIH-funded multi-level discount supermarket study were assessed. In this study, the experimental groups received a 0% (control), 15%, or 30% discount on fruits, vegetables, and noncaloric beverages for 8 months. The discount level for the participants who were selected for this study did not change from the pre-COVID to during COVID periods. Dietary intake data was collected using three unannounced 24-h dietary recalls (2 weekdays, 1 weekend) during each period. Changes in total daily kcal of food and beverages, total g of solid food, energy density of solid food (kcal/g), and g of fruit and vegetables, soda, non-caloric beverages, and snack foods were analyzed using multivariate linear regression. Energy density (ED) increased during COVID (+0.02 ± 0.5 [SD], F[4,26] = 3.0, p = 0.038). There was an interaction by gender (t = -3.2, p = 0.0035) such that ED increased for females (+0.27 ± 0.46, p = 0.037) and decreased for males (-0.22 ± 0.32, p = 0.012). The change in ED is likely due to the circumstances surrounding COVID-19, e.g. being at home, stress, and food shortages.