New research published in PLOS ONE has shown that pandemic-based closures during 2020 temporarily improved the average diet quality of Americans, including more food diversity and better adherence to recommended dietary guidelines.
The study used data from the NielsenIQ Homescan Consumer Panel on grocery purchases from 2018 through 2020, which captured data from over 41,000 U.S. households. To determine when pandemic closures started for each household, the study used data on local school closures for each household’s county of residence. This also represented the approximate time that bars, restaurants, and other eateries closed in each location. By comparing food purchases by household, the study sought to determine how restaurant closures and other effects of the pandemic may have influenced food purchases and overall dietary quality for Americans.
The results showed that pandemic-related closures improved both food diversity and overall dietary quality for Americans. On average, food diversity increased by about 2.6%, and dietary quality increased by about 8.5%.
Americans tend to spend about 50% of their food money on “away from home” purchases at restaurants and other establishments, so pandemic-related closures of these businesses led to major changes in where Americans acquired their food. This may have partially increased dietary quality, since many studies have shown that food from restaurants is generally less healthy than food cooked at home. Closures of schools and businesses may have also given many people more time to cook food at home, and disruptions in supply chains may have forced Americans to buy more diverse products than usual. Lastly, the pandemic may have made some people more health-conscious and contributed to them purchasing healthier foods. Dietary quality is an important factor for overall health, and improving dietary quality can help prevent major health conditions such as heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and obesity. These lessons from the pandemic may help us improve our dietary quality by encouraging us to eat out less and focus on healthier purchases from grocery stores.
Sources: PLOS ONE, Science Daily
