Effects of COVID-19 pandemic on food insecurity and diet quality in college students: A 12-month follow-up study

Date

8/19/2021

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Abstract

A study conducted at Texas Woman’s University (TWU) one year ago, showed high rates of food insecurity (FI) among students, with the strongest predictor of FI being unemployment as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. The purpose of this follow-up study was to assess whether prevalence of FI and diet quality has changed within TWU students since the peak COVID-19 restrictions 12 months ago. In this study, the 502 students who participated in the initial study one year ago were emailed to complete the same food security and diet quality surveys. In the 185 participants who completed the follow-up survey, food insecurity decreased from 26.0% to 18.9% (p=0.058). The impact of COVID-19 on current employment status decreased from 46.7% to 36.4% (p=0.009). Diet quality score decreased. In conclusion, since peak COVID-19 restrictions 12 months ago, food security improved and coincided with a significant change in employment status among TWU students.

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Keywords

Food security, Hunger, Females, Students, Unemployment, Coronavirus

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