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The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Food Security of UK Adults Aged 20–65 Years (COVID-19 Food Security and Dietary Assessment Study)

Thomas, Michelle; Eveleigh, Elizabeth; Vural, Zeynep; Rose, Peter; Avery, Amanda; Coneyworth, Lisa; Welham, Simon

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Food Security of UK Adults Aged 20–65 Years (COVID-19 Food Security and Dietary Assessment Study) Thumbnail


Authors

Michelle Thomas

Elizabeth Eveleigh

Zeynep Vural

PETER ROSE Peter.Rose@nottingham.ac.uk
Assistant Professor



Abstract

The first UK lockdown greatly impacted the food security status of UK adults. This study set out to establish if food procurement was adapted differently for different income groups and if this impacted dietary intakes disproportionately. Adults (n=515) aged 20-65 years participated in an online survey with 56 completing a 3-4 day diet diary. Food availability was a significant factor in the experience of food insecurity. Similar proportions of food secure and food insecure adapted food spend during lockdown, spending similar amounts. Food insecure (n = 85, 18.3%) had a 10.5% lower income and the money spent on food required a greater proportion of income. Access to food was the biggest driver of food insecurity but monetary constraint was a factor for the lowest income group. The relative risk of food insecurity increased by 0.07-fold for every 1% increase in the proportion of income spent on food above 10%. Micronutrient intakes were low compared to the reference nutrient intake (RNI) for most females, with riboflavin being 36% lower in food insecure groups (P=0.03), whilst vitamin B12 was 56% lower (p = 0.057) and iodine 53.6% lower (p = 0.257) these were not significant. Coping strategies adopted by food insecure groups included altering the quantity and variety of fruit and vegetables which may have contributed to the differences in micronutrients.

Citation

Thomas, M., Eveleigh, E., Vural, Z., Rose, P., Avery, A., Coneyworth, L., & Welham, S. (2022). The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Food Security of UK Adults Aged 20–65 Years (COVID-19 Food Security and Dietary Assessment Study). Nutrients, 14(23), Article 5078. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14235078

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Nov 24, 2022
Online Publication Date Nov 29, 2022
Publication Date Dec 1, 2022
Deposit Date Nov 25, 2022
Publicly Available Date Mar 28, 2024
Journal Nutrients
Electronic ISSN 2072-6643
Publisher MDPI AG
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 14
Issue 23
Article Number 5078
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14235078
Keywords Food Science; Nutrition and Dietetics
Public URL https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/14039205
Publisher URL https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/23/5078

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