The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on Young Australian Adults' Food Practices

• Published in: Current developments in nutrition Vol. 6; no. 3; p. 1
• Main Authors: Kombanda, Krupa Thammaiah, Margerison, Claire, Booth, Alison, Worsley, Anthony
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Oxford University Press 01.03.2022
• Subjects: Australia; Epidemics; Food and nutrition; Food habits; Forecasts and trends; Health aspects; Social aspects; Young adults; Australia
• ISSN: 2475-2991; 2475-2991

Background: Young Australian adults exhibit poor food behaviors. These include increased consumption of Energy-Dense, Nutrient-Poor (EDNP) foods, sugar-sweetened beverages, and low consumption of fruit and vegetables. However, little is known about how the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic affected young Australian adults' pre-existing adverse food behaviors. Objectives: The present study aimed to understand the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on food practices by exploring views of young adults living in Australia. Methods: Through qualitative descriptive methods, data gathered through individual interviews were thematically analyzed. Participants included 38 young adults aged 18-30 y with a mean age of 24.1 y (76% female). Results: Five themes emerged: 1) disruption of routines, 2) increased flexibility, 3) changes in food practices, 4) heightened psychological distress, and 5) impact on future behaviors. Disruption of routines and increased flexibility associated with working/learning from home resulted in both positive and negative changes in food practices. Negative changes included increased consumption of EDNP foods, increased consumption of foods prepared outside of home, decreased purchases and consumption of fresh foods, meal skipping, and a lack of meal planning. Positive changes included an increase in home cooking; consistent weekly eating patterns; decreased consumption of EDNP foods; smaller, more frequent meals; and decreased consumption of foods prepared outside of home. Conclusions: Young Australian adults reported more negative and fewer positive changes in food practices. The observed negative changes in food practices are likely to have accentuated young Australian adults' previously known poor food behaviors. This study adds to the international literature by reporting ways that young adults implemented positive changes during the pandemic and future directions of their food practices. Curr Dev Nutr 2022;6:nzac009 Keywords: young adults, coronavirus disease, COVID-19, food practices, Australia, qualitative C The Author(s) 2022. Published by Oxford University Press on behalf of the American Society for Nutrition. This is an Open Access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial License ( Manuscript received July 30, 2021. Initial review completed December 8, 2021. Revision accepted January 24, 2022. Published online March 17, 2022. This work is supported by the School of Exercise and Nutrition Sciences, Deakin University "Higher Degree by Research" funding. "Higher Degree by Research" funding had no role in the design, analysis, or writing of this article. Author disclosures: The authors report no conflicts of interest. Address correspondence to KTK (e-mail: kkombanda@deakin.edu.au). Abbreviations used: COVID-19, Coronavirus disease 2019; EDNP, Energy-Dense, Nutrient-Poor; IPAN, Institute for Physical Activity and Nutrition.