Population Subgroups at Risk of Unhealthy Changes in Food and Beverage Consumption During COVID-19 Lockdowns.

Booth, L; Santos, JA; Hoek, AC; Webster, J; Pettigrew, S

Population Subgroups at Risk of Unhealthy Changes in Food and Beverage Consumption During COVID-19 Lockdowns.

Booth, L Santos, JA Hoek, AC Webster, J

Pettigrew, S

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Publisher:: SPRINGER
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Int J Behav Med, 2024, 31, (1), pp. 163-168
Issue Date:: 2024-02

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Booth, L
dc.contributor.author	Santos, JA
dc.contributor.author	Hoek, AC
dc.contributor.author	Webster, J https://orcid.org/0000-0003-3513-3340
dc.contributor.author	Pettigrew, S
dc.date.accessioned	2025-04-23T03:12:48Z
dc.date.available	2023-02-06
dc.date.available	2025-04-23T03:12:48Z
dc.date.issued	2024-02
dc.identifier.citation	Int J Behav Med, 2024, 31, (1), pp. 163-168
dc.identifier.issn	1070-5503
dc.identifier.issn	1532-7558
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/186970
dc.description.abstract	BACKGROUND: Understanding health behaviour changes during the COVID-19 pandemic can assist in developing strategies to promote healthy lifestyles at such times. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine whether the frequency of consuming unhealthy foods and beverages changed during lockdown and whether certain population subgroups were more likely to make such changes. METHOD: An online survey was administered to a national sample of 4022 Australian adults (51% female, mean age 48 years). Generalised linear models with generalised estimating equations were used to identify whether demographic characteristics (age, gender, education, presence of children in the household, number of people in the household) and beliefs related to COVID-19 were associated with changes in the frequency of consuming alcohol, sweet snacks, salty snacks, and sugary beverages from pre to during lockdown. RESULTS: Overall, the frequency of consuming the four assessed unhealthy products did not change during lockdown. However, being male and having children at home were consistently associated with unhealthy changes, whereas believing that alcohol or unhealthy diets would exacerbate COVID-19 severity was linked to a decreased frequency of consuming these products respectively. Age, education, and living with more people were also associated with changes in the frequency of consuming some product categories. CONCLUSION: During lockdown, certain population subgroups appeared to be at increased risk of more frequent consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages. Believing certain consumption habits are linked to adverse health impacts of COVID was found to reduce frequency of consumption of related products, presenting a potential focus for future public health actions.
dc.format	Print-Electronic
dc.language	eng
dc.publisher	SPRINGER
dc.relation.ispartof	Int J Behav Med
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1007/s12529-023-10165-2
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	1117 Public Health and Health Services, 1701 Psychology
dc.subject.classification	Public Health
dc.subject.classification	3901 Curriculum and pedagogy
dc.subject.classification	4206 Public health
dc.subject.classification	5202 Biological psychology
dc.subject.mesh	Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Child
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged
dc.subject.mesh	COVID-19
dc.subject.mesh	Pandemics
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Communicable Disease Control
dc.subject.mesh	Beverages
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Communicable Disease Control
dc.subject.mesh	Beverages
dc.subject.mesh	Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged
dc.subject.mesh	Child
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Pandemics
dc.subject.mesh	COVID-19
dc.subject.mesh	Adult
dc.subject.mesh	Child
dc.subject.mesh	Humans
dc.subject.mesh	Male
dc.subject.mesh	Female
dc.subject.mesh	Middle Aged
dc.subject.mesh	COVID-19
dc.subject.mesh	Pandemics
dc.subject.mesh	Australia
dc.subject.mesh	Communicable Disease Control
dc.subject.mesh	Beverages
dc.title	Population Subgroups at Risk of Unhealthy Changes in Food and Beverage Consumption During COVID-19 Lockdowns.
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	31
utslib.location.activity	England
utslib.for	1117 Public Health and Health Services
utslib.for	1701 Psychology
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Health
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups
pubs.organisational-group	University of Technology Sydney/UTS Groups/UTS Ageing Research Collaborative (UARC)
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.rights.license	This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (CC BY 4.0). To view a copy of this license, visit https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
dc.date.updated	2025-04-23T03:12:46Z
pubs.issue	1
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	31
utslib.citation.issue	1

Abstract:

BACKGROUND: Understanding health behaviour changes during the COVID-19 pandemic can assist in developing strategies to promote healthy lifestyles at such times. The aim of this exploratory study was to examine whether the frequency of consuming unhealthy foods and beverages changed during lockdown and whether certain population subgroups were more likely to make such changes. METHOD: An online survey was administered to a national sample of 4022 Australian adults (51% female, mean age 48 years). Generalised linear models with generalised estimating equations were used to identify whether demographic characteristics (age, gender, education, presence of children in the household, number of people in the household) and beliefs related to COVID-19 were associated with changes in the frequency of consuming alcohol, sweet snacks, salty snacks, and sugary beverages from pre to during lockdown. RESULTS: Overall, the frequency of consuming the four assessed unhealthy products did not change during lockdown. However, being male and having children at home were consistently associated with unhealthy changes, whereas believing that alcohol or unhealthy diets would exacerbate COVID-19 severity was linked to a decreased frequency of consuming these products respectively. Age, education, and living with more people were also associated with changes in the frequency of consuming some product categories. CONCLUSION: During lockdown, certain population subgroups appeared to be at increased risk of more frequent consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages. Believing certain consumption habits are linked to adverse health impacts of COVID was found to reduce frequency of consumption of related products, presenting a potential focus for future public health actions.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/186970