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. 2022 Jul 7;19(14):8289.
doi: 10.3390/ijerph19148289.

Early Pandemic Improvements in Diet Quality Are Associated with Increased Physical Activity and Weight Loss in US Adults

Corinne E Gautreaux  1 , Kristen S Smith  2 , Luke Dolan  3 , Michael B Marlin  4 , Michael W Greene  2 , Josh R Novak  2 , Andrew D Frugé  2   5
Affiliations

Early Pandemic Improvements in Diet Quality Are Associated with Increased Physical Activity and Weight Loss in US Adults

Corinne E Gautreaux et al. Int J Environ Res Public Health. .

Abstract

In March 2020, the COVID-19 pandemic led to restricted vocational (Voc-PA) and recreational physical activity (Rec-PA) outside of the home. We conducted a nation-wide survey in the United States (US) during the mitigation peak of the pandemic (June 2020) to assess health-related changes from the previous year. A diet quality (DQ) assessment tool weighted the relative healthfulness of eating occasions from foods prepared-at-home (Home) and away-from-home (Away). Previously-validated instruments assessed PA and demographic variables; height/weight were self-reported to calculate body mass index (BMI). T-tests explored longitudinal, between-sex, and obesity status differences in DQ, PA, and BMI; Pearson correlations explored associations. Of 1648 respondents, 814 valid responses (56.8% female, 81.7% white) were analyzed. Overall and Home DQ was higher for females than males in 2020 (p < 0.001 for both). Respondents increased DQ from 2019 to 2020, primarily from Away (p < 0.001 for both sexes). Total Rec-PA and Voc-PA was higher in males (p = 0.002, p < 0.001) than females in 2020; females reported higher other PA (p = 0.001). Change in BMI was inversely associated with change in both DQ and PA (p < 0.001 for both). In this sample of US adults, early adaptations to the COVID-19 pandemic included improved DQ and BMI. Whether these short-term improvements were maintained warrant further investigation.

Keywords: COVID-19; body mass index; diet; pandemic; physical activity.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow of respondents and exclusions. Several responses met multiple exclusion criteria, thus the sum of exclusions exceeds 834.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Heatmap of correlations between outcome variables. * p-values < 0.05. ** p-values < 0.001.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Physical Activity (PA) types in daily Metabolic Equivalents (METs) and daily sitting time in hours by obesity status.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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