{"id":2619,"date":"2024-07-16T12:40:42","date_gmt":"2024-07-16T12:40:42","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/?p=2619"},"modified":"2025-02-21T19:59:10","modified_gmt":"2025-02-21T19:59:10","slug":"american-diets-improved-diversified-during-covid-19-study-finds","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/american-diets-improved-diversified-during-covid-19-study-finds\/","title":{"rendered":"American Diets Improved, Diversified During COVID-19, Study Finds"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<div class=\"wp-block-group\"><div class=\"wp-block-group__inner-container is-layout-constrained wp-block-group-is-layout-constrained\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-blockquote uagb-block-e7eb3fc3 uagb-blockquote__skin-border uagb-blockquote__stack-img-none\"><blockquote class=\"uagb-blockquote\"><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__content\">A study led by Penn State reveals that American diets significantly improved in quality and diversity during the initial COVID-19 lockdowns. The findings suggest that reduced restaurant dining can positively impact public health.<\/div><footer><div class=\"uagb-blockquote__author-wrap uagb-blockquote__author-at-left\"><\/div><\/footer><\/blockquote><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-content-justification-space-between is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-0dfbf163 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\"><div style=\"font-size:16px;\" class=\"has-text-align-left wp-block-post-author\"><div class=\"wp-block-post-author__content\"><p class=\"wp-block-post-author__name\">The University Network<\/p><\/div><\/div>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share uagb-social-share__outer-wrap uagb-social-share__layout-horizontal uagb-block-ee584a31\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-ec619ce7\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"facebook\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M504 256C504 119 393 8 256 8S8 119 8 256c0 123.8 90.69 226.4 209.3 245V327.7h-63V256h63v-54.64c0-62.15 37-96.48 93.67-96.48 27.14 0 55.52 4.84 55.52 4.84v61h-31.28c-30.8 0-40.41 19.12-40.41 38.73V256h68.78l-11 71.69h-57.78V501C413.3 482.4 504 379.8 504 256z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-32d99934\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/share?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"twitter\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 512 512\"><path d=\"M389.2 48h70.6L305.6 224.2 487 464H345L233.7 318.6 106.5 464H35.8L200.7 275.5 26.8 48H172.4L272.9 180.9 389.2 48zM364.4 421.8h39.1L151.1 88h-42L364.4 421.8z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-uagb-social-share-child uagb-ss-repeater uagb-ss__wrapper uagb-block-1d136f14\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__link\" data-href=\"https:\/\/www.linkedin.com\/shareArticle?url=\" tabindex=\"0\" role=\"button\" aria-label=\"linkedin\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-wrap\"><span class=\"uagb-ss__source-icon\"><svg xmlns=\"https:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" viewBox=\"0 0 448 512\"><path d=\"M416 32H31.9C14.3 32 0 46.5 0 64.3v383.4C0 465.5 14.3 480 31.9 480H416c17.6 0 32-14.5 32-32.3V64.3c0-17.8-14.4-32.3-32-32.3zM135.4 416H69V202.2h66.5V416zm-33.2-243c-21.3 0-38.5-17.3-38.5-38.5S80.9 96 102.2 96c21.2 0 38.5 17.3 38.5 38.5 0 21.3-17.2 38.5-38.5 38.5zm282.1 243h-66.4V312c0-24.8-.5-56.7-34.5-56.7-34.6 0-39.9 27-39.9 54.9V416h-66.4V202.2h63.7v29.2h.9c8.9-16.8 30.6-34.5 62.9-34.5 67.2 0 79.7 44.3 79.7 101.9V416z\"><\/path><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lives globally, it also prompted a positive shift in American eating habits, according to a team of researchers led by Pennsylvania State University. During the early months of the pandemic, as lockdowns and school closures took effect, there were noticeable improvements in the quality and diversity of American diets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Published in PLOS ONE, the <a href=\"https:\/\/journals.plos.org\/plosone\/article?id=10.1371\/journal.pone.0300839\" title=\"\">study<\/a> highlights that diet quality rose by up to 8.5% and food diversity increased by up to 2.6% following the pandemic onset. Edward Jaenicke, a professor of agricultural economics at Penn State, believes these findings offer insights into dietary changes in the absence of regular restaurant dining.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWhen dine-in restaurants closed, our diets got a little more diverse and a little healthier,\u201d Jaenicke said in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.psu.edu\/news\/agricultural-sciences\/story\/american-diets-got-briefly-healthier-more-diverse-during-covid-19\/\" title=\"\">news release<\/a>. \u201cOne post-pandemic lesson is that we now have some evidence that any future shifts away from restaurant expenditures, even those not caused by the pandemic, could improve Americans\u2019 food diversity and healthfulness.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Historical Diet Trends<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Prior to 2020, American dietary patterns were often poor, as noted in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.dietaryguidelines.gov\/\" title=\"\">Dietary Guidelines for Americans<\/a>. Minimal improvements in the nation\u2019s Healthy Eating Index score between 2005 and 2016 underscored the challenges. Against this backdrop, the pandemic-induced dietary shifts make the study\u2019s outcomes particularly encouraging.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">An Unexpected Opportunity<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Originally part of a grant-funded project studying consumer behavior following catastrophic events, Jaenicke\u2019s team pivoted to harness data from the pandemic. This shift allowed them to analyze a unique real-world phenomenon.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cAt first, the most impactful events we could study using actual, real-world data were hurricanes and other natural disasters. But then, along came the COVID-19 pandemic, and we realized that this event was an opportunity to study the closest thing we had to a true global catastrophe,\u201d added Jaenicke.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Study Methodology<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>The research team analyzed data from the NielsenIQ Homescan Consumer Panel, which encompasses 41,570 nationally representative U.S. households. They compared grocery purchases from before and after pandemic-induced closures, identifying causal effects by matching each household\u2019s food purchases to those from one year earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>&#8220;To establish causality, an individual household\u2019s pre- and post-pandemic food purchases were first compared to the same household\u2019s food purchases from one year earlier,\u201d Jaenicke added. \u201cThis way, we controlled for the food-purchasing habits, preferences and idiosyncrasies of individual households.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Findings and Explanations<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>From March to June 2020, the study observed a modest increase in food diversity and a more significant, temporary improvement in diet quality, as measured by adherence to the USDA\u2019s Thrifty Food Plan. This trend spanned across various household demographics, though it was less pronounced in households with young children, lower incomes or no car.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Several factors could explain these changes. With restaurants closed, home-cooked meals likely became more frequent and healthier. The pandemic&#8217;s stresses might have made some consumers more health-conscious, and supply chain disruptions might have forced shifts to less familiar, potentially healthier options. Additionally, more time at home may have enabled some to invest more effort into meal preparation, while others, particularly those with young children, faced the opposite.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Looking Forward<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Jaenicke hopes future research will continue to examine how different disasters impact food purchasing and eating habits. Alongside co-authors Douglas Wrenn from Penn State and Daniel Simandjuntak from Newcastle University, the team underscores the significant potential for improving public health through understanding changes in dietary behaviors.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>This study connects the dots between reduced restaurant dining and improved diet quality and diversity. As the world navigates the post-pandemic era, these insights pave the way for policies and personal habits fostering better nutrition.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lives globally, it also prompted a positive shift in American eating habits, according to a team of researchers led by Pennsylvania State University. During the early months of the pandemic, as lockdowns and school closures took effect, there were noticeable improvements in the quality and diversity of American diets. Published [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"single-no-separators","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_uag_custom_page_level_css":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[30],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2619","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-food-nutrition"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"uagb_featured_image_src":{"full":false,"thumbnail":false,"medium":false,"medium_large":false,"large":false,"1536x1536":false,"2048x2048":false},"uagb_author_info":{"display_name":"The University Network","author_link":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/author\/funky_junkie\/"},"uagb_comment_info":0,"uagb_excerpt":"While the COVID-19 pandemic disrupted lives globally, it also prompted a positive shift in American eating habits, according to a team of researchers led by Pennsylvania State University. During the early months of the pandemic, as lockdowns and school closures took effect, there were noticeable improvements in the quality and diversity of American diets. Published&hellip;","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2619","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2619"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2619\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2626,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2619\/revisions\/2626"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2619"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2619"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.tun.com\/home\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2619"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}