The Labry School of Science, Technology, and Business, Cumberland University, Lebanon, TN, USA.
Department of Applied Economics and Statistics, University of Delaware, Newark, DE, USA.
Appetite. 2024 Oct 1;201:107574. doi: 10.1016/j.appet.2024.107574. Epub 2024 Jun 21.
The COVID-19 pandemic, one of the worst global health crises in the last century, impacted nearly every aspect of people's lives, including their dietary choices and food consumption patterns. It arrived during a long shift in American diets featuring increasingly large portions of processed foods as well as fruit and vegetable consumption that is well below recommended levels. Improving the latter has been a key part of policymakers' efforts to improve consumers' diets. This study surveyed individuals in the US South to determine the factors influencing their consumption of fruit and vegetables during the pandemic peak and how these have changed post-peak. During the peak, food venue, demographics, and concerns about diet and the seriousness of the virus heavily affected consumption. Greater amounts of fresh fruit and vegetables were consumed post-peak pandemic. Changes post-peak were predicted by food venue. Cooking meals at home was the main positive predictor for consumption. US policymakers should try and leverage the changes since the peak to promote greater consumption of fruit and vegetables.
新冠疫情是上世纪最严重的全球卫生危机之一，几乎影响到人们生活的方方面面，包括他们的饮食选择和食物消费模式。这场疫情发生在上世纪美国饮食结构的重大转变期间，人们食用的加工食品越来越多，而水果和蔬菜的摄入量远低于推荐水平。改善后者一直是政策制定者努力改善消费者饮食的关键部分。本研究调查了美国南部的个人，以确定在疫情高峰期影响他们食用水果和蔬菜的因素，以及这些因素在高峰期后的变化。在高峰期，饮食场所、人口统计学特征、对饮食和病毒严重程度的担忧严重影响了消费。在疫情高峰期后，人们消费了更多的新鲜水果和蔬菜。消费模式的变化可以通过饮食场所来预测。在家做饭是促进消费的主要积极因素。美国政策制定者应该尝试利用疫情高峰期后的变化，促进更多地消费水果和蔬菜。
