(P20-070-24) Post-COVID-19 Changes in Eating Patterns and Diet Quality Among Women in Northwest Mexico

Objectives: To assess disparities in dietary quality and patterns among women before and after the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A cross-sectional study used data from 51 women in a pre-pandemic study and 60 women in a post-pandemic study. The researchers assessed diet quality and eating patterns in both groups by employing a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). Subsequently, the FFQ responses were converted into Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2020) components. Furthermore, diet quality was evaluated by examining adherence to the recommendations of HEI-2020 components.

Results: The pre- and post-pandemic groups had average ages of 51.1 ± 11.8 and 52.1 ± 9.2 years, respectively. Certain components of the Healthy Eating Index (HEI-2020) exhibited a statistically significant difference between the two groups. Notably, positive changes after the pandemic were observed, including high consumption of seafood, plant protein, total protein foods, and fatty acids, and low intake of added sugar, saturated fats, and sodium. However, there was also a notable negative change: high consumption of refined grains. Unfortunately, none of the participants met the daily intake of refined grains recommended by HEI-2020 (<≤32 g/1000 kcal/day). A statistically significant difference was observed between the two groups regarding diet quality. In the post-pandemic group, 3.33% of participants' diet quality was categorized as unhealthy, while before the pandemic, the percentage of participants categorized as having an unhealthy diet was 21.57%.

Conclusions: Women showed a significant enhancement in the quality of their diets after the pandemic. Still, there remains a need for further efforts to ensure a greater number of individuals adhere to the recommended daily dietary intake, which is crucial for preventing chronic diseases.

Funding Sources: Centro de Investigación en Alimentación y Desarrollo, A.C. (Research Center for Food and Development), Hermosillo, México.