Department of Agriculture, Nutrition and Human Ecology, Prairie View A&M University, Prairie View, TX, United States of America.
PLoS One. 2023 Nov 29;18(11):e0294361. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0294361. eCollection 2023.
As a new type of consumer subject in the market that was formerly dominated by multiple person families, single households are driving the change in the buying structure. Food purchase activities have undergone significant changes since the outbreak of the COVID-19. The objective of this study was to assess and compare variations in food consumption, purchase and handling during the COVID-19 pandemic between single person households (SPH) and multiple person households.
A cross-sectional study conducted among 211 individuals in communities in Harris and Waller Counties, Texas. Sociodemographic, food purchase, food consumption and food handling activities during the COVID-19 pandemic were assessed with a validated COVID-19 Nutrition questionnaire.
Non-Hispanic Black participants constituted 42.6%, and 28.4% were Hispanics. Participants were made up of mostly aged 18-24 years (39.3%), 47.9% single household composition, 30.4% in full time employment, and 29.1% partook in food assistance programs. A large proportion of them had never used grocery pickup services, online grocery shopping and a farmers' market. During the COVID-19 pandemic, majority of the participants used more of large supermarkets, restaurant/fast food, and online grocery but food consumption seemed to remain the same for the majority of participants. For beverages, majority of participants consumed more water, less soda, and no alcohol. There was a significant association between single person household and higher restaurant/fast foods purchase. Many of the participants reported weight gain and less physical activity during the pandemic.
Restaurant meal purchases was more prevalent in single-person families. The results from the study have the potential to contribute to how public policy officials, food service, and health authorities forecast how different categories of consumers will react in pandemics and may be used to inform area-specific alleviation strategies to minimize the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and future events.
作为市场上以前由多人家庭主导的新型消费主体，单身家庭正在推动购买结构的变化。自 COVID-19 爆发以来，食品购买活动发生了重大变化。本研究旨在评估和比较 COVID-19 大流行期间单身家庭 (SPH) 和多人家庭的食物消费、购买和处理的变化。
在德克萨斯州哈里斯县和沃勒县的社区中进行了一项横断面研究。使用经过验证的 COVID-19 营养问卷评估了社会人口统计学、COVID-19 期间的食品购买、食品消费和食品处理活动。
非西班牙裔黑人参与者占 42.6%，西班牙裔参与者占 28.4%。参与者主要由 18-24 岁（39.3%）、47.9%的单身家庭组成、30.4%全职工作和 29.1%参加食品援助计划。他们中的很大一部分人从未使用过杂货店提货服务、在线杂货店购物和农贸市场。在 COVID-19 大流行期间，大多数参与者更多地使用大型超市、餐馆/快餐店和在线杂货店，但大多数参与者的食品消费似乎保持不变。对于饮料，大多数参与者饮用更多的水，减少苏打水的摄入量，不饮酒。单身家庭与更多的餐馆/快餐店购买之间存在显著关联。许多参与者报告在大流行期间体重增加和体力活动减少。
餐馆餐食购买在单身家庭中更为普遍。该研究结果有可能有助于公共政策官员、食品服务和卫生当局预测不同类别的消费者在大流行期间的反应方式，并可用于制定特定于区域的缓解策略，以最大程度地减少 COVID-19 大流行和未来事件的影响。
