Dietary Changes of Youth during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Nicolas Woods¹, Jamie A Seabrook², Holly Schaafsma³, Shauna Burke⁴, Trish Tucker⁵, Jason Gilliland⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Health Studies, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: nwoods@uwo.ca.
² Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Brescia University College, London, Ontario, Canada; Children's Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: jseabro2@uwo.ca.
³ School of Health Studies, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: hredick@uwo.ca.
⁴ School of Health Studies, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Children's Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: sburke9@uwo.ca.
⁵ Children's Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; School of Occupational Therapy, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: ttucker2@uwo.ca.
⁶ School of Health Studies, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Children's Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Geography and Environment, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: heal@uwo.ca.

PMID: 38408731
PMCID: PMC11007747
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.02.022

Dietary Changes of Youth during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

Nicolas Woods et al. J Nutr. 2024 Apr.

. 2024 Apr;154(4):1376-1403.

doi: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.02.022. Epub 2024 Feb 24.

Authors

Nicolas Woods¹, Jamie A Seabrook², Holly Schaafsma³, Shauna Burke⁴, Trish Tucker⁵, Jason Gilliland⁶

Affiliations

¹ School of Health Studies, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: nwoods@uwo.ca.
² Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; School of Food and Nutritional Sciences, Brescia University College, London, Ontario, Canada; Children's Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: jseabro2@uwo.ca.
³ School of Health Studies, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: hredick@uwo.ca.
⁴ School of Health Studies, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Children's Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: sburke9@uwo.ca.
⁵ Children's Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; School of Occupational Therapy, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: ttucker2@uwo.ca.
⁶ School of Health Studies, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Human Environments Analysis Laboratory, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Epidemiology & Biostatistics, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Children's Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Lawson Health Research Institute, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Paediatrics, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Department of Geography and Environment, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada; Health and Rehabilitation Sciences, Faculty of Health Sciences, the University of Western Ontario, London, Ontario, Canada. Electronic address: heal@uwo.ca.

PMID: 38408731
PMCID: PMC11007747
DOI: 10.1016/j.tjnut.2024.02.022

Abstract

Background: The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has taken the lives of millions and disrupted countless more worldwide. Simply living through the pandemic has had drastic effects on the health of citizens. Diet, an important aspect of health, has been uniquely affected by the pandemic, although these changes have not been sufficiently studied among youth.

Objectives: The objective of this systematic review was to investigate dietary changes of youth during COVID-19.

Methods: A prespecified literature review was conducted using MEDLINE, EMBASE, Scopus, and CINAHL to identify studies from January 2020 to May 2023 that assessed dietary changes among youth aged ≤20 y compared with before the pandemic. Only quantitative observational studies that were published in English were included. Two authors completed all screening/study selection independently, with disagreements being resolved via discussion. Data extraction was completed by 1 author. Dietary changes were categorized into food groups and habits for analysis purposes.

Results: In total, 67 studies met inclusion criteria. Most studies used recall to assess changes (48/67; 71.6%). Most studies found an increase in fruits and vegetables (24/46; 52.2%), grain products (6/11; 54.5%), meat, poultry, and eggs (4/8, 50.0%), diet quality indices and/or overall dietary assessments (7/13, 53.8%), and the frequency of snacking (9/12; 75.0%), whereas generally finding a decrease in ultraprocessed foods (32/53; 60.4%), compared with before the COVID-19 pandemic. Mixed findings or primarily no changes were found for fish and aquatic products, legumes, beans, seeds and nuts, milk and milk products, breakfast consumption, and nutrient intake.

Conclusions: Mostly favorable dietary changes appear to have occurred among youth during COVID-19, although there were several mixed findings and unclear takeaways among the foods and habits under study. The heterogeneity of defining food groups was a noted limitation in the current review.

Keywords: COVID-19; children; nutrition; teen; youth.

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Figures

**FIGURE 1**
PRISMA flow diagram of included studies.

**FIGURE 2**
Summary of study findings. ∗Bolder colors indicate significant changes, whereas transparent ones represent changes of unknown statistical significance.

See this image and copyright information in PMC

References

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Dietary Changes of Youth during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

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Dietary Changes of Youth during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Systematic Review

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