Institute of Agricultural Economics and Development, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Beijing 100081, China.
School of Economics, Shandong University of Technology, Zibo 255049, China.
Nutrients. 2021 Jun 11;13(6):2015. doi: 10.3390/nu13062015.
Over the past 4 decades, China has experienced a nutritional transition and has developed the largest population of internet users. In this study, we evaluated the impacts of internet access on the nutritional intake in Chinese rural residents. An IV-Probit-based propensity score matching method was used to determine the impact of internet access on nutritional intake. The data were collected from 10,042 rural households in six Chinese provinces. The results reveal that rural residents with internet access have significantly higher energy, protein, and fat intake than those without. Chinese rural residents with internet access consumed 1.35% (28.62 kcal), 5.02% (2.61 g), and 4.33% (3.30 g) more energy, protein, and fat, respectively. There was heterogeneity in regard to the intake of energy, protein, and fat among those in different income groups. Moreover, non-staple food consumption is the main channel through which internet access affects nutritional intake. The results demonstrate that the local population uses the internet to improve their nutritional status. Further studies are required to investigate the impact of internet use on food consumed away from home and micronutrient intake.
在过去的 40 年中，中国经历了营养转型，并拥有全球最大的互联网用户群体。本研究旨在评估互联网接入对中国农村居民营养摄入的影响。我们采用基于工具变量的倾向得分匹配法来确定互联网接入对营养摄入的影响。数据来自中国六个省份的 10042 户农村家庭。结果表明，拥有互联网接入的农村居民的能量、蛋白质和脂肪摄入量明显高于没有互联网接入的居民。与没有互联网接入的居民相比，拥有互联网接入的农村居民分别多摄入了 1.35%（28.62 千卡）、5.02%（2.61 克）和 4.33%（3.30 克）的能量、蛋白质和脂肪。不同收入组的能量、蛋白质和脂肪摄入量存在异质性。此外，非主食消费是互联网接入影响营养摄入的主要途径。结果表明，当地居民利用互联网来改善自身营养状况。需要进一步研究互联网使用对家庭外食物消费和微量营养素摄入的影响。
