TY - JOUR
T1 - Daily food insecurity is associated with diet quality, but not energy intake, in winter and during COVID-19, among low-income adults
AU - Jimenez Rincon, Sara
AU - Dou, Nan
AU - Murray-Kolb, Laura E.
AU - Hudy, Kristen
AU - Mitchell, Diane C.
AU - Li, Runze
AU - Na, Muzi
N1 - Funding Information:
This project described was supported by the National Center for Advancing Translational Sciences, National Institutes of Health, through Grant UL1TR002014. The content is solely the responsibility of the authors and does not necessarily represent the official views of the NIH. MN’s effort was supported by Broadhurst Career Development Professorship for the Study of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention, Penn State. SJR’s effort in the study was additionally supported by the 2021 Undergraduate Research Award for Summer Research, College of Health and Human Development, Penn State.
Funding Information:
We thank Naiwen Ji, Linna Shi and Emma Louise Sharp for volunteering their time to help recruit participants.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022, The Author(s).
PY - 2022/12
Y1 - 2022/12
N2 - Background: Food insecurity (FI) is a dynamic phenomenon. Experiences of daily FI may impact dietary outcomes differently within a given month, across seasons, and before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the association of short-term FI with dietary quality and energy 1) over six weeks in two seasonal months and 2) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Using an ecological momentary assessment framework on smartphones, this study tracked daily FI via the 6-item U.S. Adult Food Security Survey Module and dietary intake via food diaries in 29 low-income adults. A total of 324 person-days of data were collected during two three-week long waves in fall and winter months. Generalized Estimating Equation models were applied to estimate the daily FI-diet relationship, accounting for intrapersonal variation and covariates. Results: A one-unit increase in daily FI score was associated with a 7.10-point (95%CI:-11.04,-3.15) and 3.80-point (95%CI: -6.08,-1.53) decrease in the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) score in winter and during COVID-19, respectively. In winter months, a greater daily FI score was associated with less consumption of total fruit (-0.17 cups, 95% CI: -0.32,-0.02), whole fruit (-0.18 cups, 95%CI: -0.30,-0.05), whole grains (-0.57 oz, 95%CI: -0.99,-0.16) and higher consumption of refined grains (1.05 oz, 95%CI: 0.52,1.59). During COVID-19, elevated daily FI scores were associated with less intake of whole grains (-0.49 oz, 95% CI: -0.88,-0.09), and higher intake of salt (0.34 g, 95%CI: 0.15,0.54). No association was observed in fall nor during the pre-COVID-19 months. No association was found between daily FI and energy intake in either season, pre-COVID 19, or during-COVID-19 months. Conclusion: Daily FI is associated with compromised dietary quality in low-income adults in winter months and during the COVID-19 period. Future research should delve into the underlying factors of these observed relationships.
AB - Background: Food insecurity (FI) is a dynamic phenomenon. Experiences of daily FI may impact dietary outcomes differently within a given month, across seasons, and before or during the COVID-19 pandemic. Objectives: The aims of this study were to investigate the association of short-term FI with dietary quality and energy 1) over six weeks in two seasonal months and 2) before and during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: Using an ecological momentary assessment framework on smartphones, this study tracked daily FI via the 6-item U.S. Adult Food Security Survey Module and dietary intake via food diaries in 29 low-income adults. A total of 324 person-days of data were collected during two three-week long waves in fall and winter months. Generalized Estimating Equation models were applied to estimate the daily FI-diet relationship, accounting for intrapersonal variation and covariates. Results: A one-unit increase in daily FI score was associated with a 7.10-point (95%CI:-11.04,-3.15) and 3.80-point (95%CI: -6.08,-1.53) decrease in the Healthy Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015) score in winter and during COVID-19, respectively. In winter months, a greater daily FI score was associated with less consumption of total fruit (-0.17 cups, 95% CI: -0.32,-0.02), whole fruit (-0.18 cups, 95%CI: -0.30,-0.05), whole grains (-0.57 oz, 95%CI: -0.99,-0.16) and higher consumption of refined grains (1.05 oz, 95%CI: 0.52,1.59). During COVID-19, elevated daily FI scores were associated with less intake of whole grains (-0.49 oz, 95% CI: -0.88,-0.09), and higher intake of salt (0.34 g, 95%CI: 0.15,0.54). No association was observed in fall nor during the pre-COVID-19 months. No association was found between daily FI and energy intake in either season, pre-COVID 19, or during-COVID-19 months. Conclusion: Daily FI is associated with compromised dietary quality in low-income adults in winter months and during the COVID-19 period. Future research should delve into the underlying factors of these observed relationships.
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U2 - 10.1186/s12937-022-00768-y
DO - 10.1186/s12937-022-00768-y
M3 - Article
C2 - 35331249
AN - SCOPUS:85127029310
SN - 1475-2891
VL - 21
JO - Nutrition Journal
JF - Nutrition Journal
IS - 1
M1 - 19
ER -