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. 2022 Oct 27;8(1):122.
doi: 10.1186/s40795-022-00612-w.

COVID-19 epidemic lockdown-induced remarkable decrease in dairy products consumption of Iran population: does it really matter? National Food and Nutrition Surveillance

Bahareh Nikooyeh  1 , Samira Rabiei  1 , Maryam Amini  1 , Delaram Ghodsi  1 , Hamid Rasekhi  1 , Azam Doustmohammadian  2 , Zahra Abdollahi  3 , Mina Minaie  3 , Farzaneh Sadeghi  3 , Tirang R Neyestani  4
Affiliations

COVID-19 epidemic lockdown-induced remarkable decrease in dairy products consumption of Iran population: does it really matter? National Food and Nutrition Surveillance

Bahareh Nikooyeh et al. BMC Nutr. .

Abstract

Background: The pandemic of the newly emerged coronavirus infection and its related disease, Covid-19, has influenced various aspects of human life including dietary habits. This study aimed to examine changes in dairy products consumption during Covid-19 lockdown period in a huge sample of Iranian households.

Methods: A cross-sectional descriptive-analytical study using a web-based electronic self-administered questionnaire designed to detect any changes in the consumption frequency of dairy products in the Iranian households during Covid-19 lockdown.

Results: A total of 21,290 households were enrolled. During Covid-19 epidemic lockdown, about 29%, 26% and 7% of the households had decreased their consumption frequency of milk, yogurt and cheese, respectively. The female-headed households were 21% more likely to decrease their consumption of milk, compared with male-headed households (OR = 1.21, 95% CI: 1.05-1.4). The households residing in food insecure provinces were 29%, 20% and 45% more likely to decrease their consumption of milk, yogurt and cheese as compared with those living in the food secure provinces. About 37%, 25.3%, 19.4% of those households who reported a decrease in consumption of dairy products had fully omitted them.

Conclusion: We found considerable decrement of dairy products consumption, especially milk and yogurt, in a high proportion of the studied households. Inadequate intake and, in some households, omission of dairy products can potentially bring about serious health outcomes with heavier economic burden. Further studies to track these changes over time and to evaluate their health consequences are warranted.

Keywords: Consumption frequency; Covid-19; Dairy products; Dietary habits; Survey.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare that they have no competing interests.

Figures

Fig. 1
Fig. 1
The amount of decrease in milk, yogurt and cheese consumption among those households who reported decrement in consumption frequency of these dairy products during Covid-19 epidemic lockdown
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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