Dietary intake of young adult college students before and during the COVID-19 pandemic
Creators: name: Li, Yue
Publisher: name: No Publisher Supplied
Year: 2022

description: The transition from living with family to living independently brings life changes that can impact the health of young adults in college. College students often have mental health concerns and are at increased risk for poor physical health for various reasons associated with their eating behaviors, including food insecurity, campus food environment, culture, social media usage, and low level of nutrition knowledge and cooking skills. Recently, college students may experience more life changes than usual due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Limited research has investigated the effect of the COVID-19 pandemic on the dietary choices of college students. Thus, this study compared the nutrient intake and types of food (e.g., fresh vs. processed fruit and vegetables) consumed by young adults enrolled in an online introductory nutrition course at Rutgers University before COVID (n=102; 70% female) with those enrolled during COVID (n=66; 77% female). The study was a primary analysis of self-reported 3-day diet records completed by study participants. Finding indicate both groups had healthy BMIs (mean=23.69±4.11SD); however, significantly more During-COVID students wanted to lose weight (15% vs 8%) and had low physical activity level (41% vs 26%) than comparators. Both Groups consumed &gt;150%DRI for protein, and 86%, 18%, 45%, 54%, and 63% met carbohydrate (&gt;130g/d), sugar (&lt;10% total kcal), total fat (&gt;20%-&lt;35% kcal), saturated fat (&lt;10% kcal), and cholesterol (300mg/d) recommendations, respectively. Independent-samples t-tests found significant (p&lt;0.05) differences in %kcal consumed by Before- vs During-COVID groups for protein (19.63+5.23SD vs 17.95+5.42SD), carbohydrate (47.75+8.18SD vs 50.85+8.92SD), and sugar (15.32+6.27SD vs 17.29+6.40SD). The During-COVID group met significantly less of their estimated kcal need (80% vs 90%) than comparators. No vitamin (i.e., vitamins A, B6, C, D, and E, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, and folate) intakes differed between groups except vitamin B12 consumption was significantly lower in During-COVID group (92%DRI vs 132%DRI). Mineral (i.e., calcium, iron, magnesium, phosphorus) intakes were similar in both groups, however During-COVID (2314mg+980mgSD) students consumed significantly less sodium than Before-COVID (2566g+873gSD) students. Sodium declines translated into 55% of the During-COVID students meeting Dietary Guidelines goal (&lt;2300mg/d) vs 45% of comparators. Sodium declines are a positive behavior change, possibly reflecting more homemade meals. Macronutrient distribution shifts (less protein/more carbohydrate) and vitamin B12 decline signal areas to monitor as COVID persists. COVID-19 had impacts on college students’ dietary behaviors. Their calorie composition shifted to lower protein and more carbohydrate with sugar as the main contributor to higher carbohydrate intake. The lower reported vitamin B12 intake during COVID may be of concern if the COVID pandemic dietary changes persist. Overall, these findings suggest nutrition interventions should target promotion of nutrient dense food intake and provide weight management and physical activity aids to college students.