Keenan, Gregory S. and Royle, William, Samuel and Marrow, Lynne and Scholey, Andrew and Benson, Sarah and Owen, Lauren J. (2024) The association between COVID-19 related income loss and diet quality: the mediating role of distress. Appetite. ISSN 0195-6663
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Abstract
The COVID-19 lockdowns saw many individuals lose income, experience distress and increase intake of foods that would typically be considered less ‘healthy’ (more processed and less fresh produce). Establishing whether there are direct and indirect links between these variables would be of benefit in preparing for similar future events but also has implications for the current global financial climate, where many are experiencing relative decreases in income. Adults in two locations (UK and Australia) (N = 917) completed online questionnaires to explore the impact of the first COVID-19 lockdown on their change in income, emotional wellbeing (depression, anxiety, stress, loneliness), resilience and diet quality. A structural equation model revealed that income loss was indirectly associated with diet quality via distress. As such, the greater the loss of income experienced, the more distress reported; distress was then directly associated with a less nutritious diet. This pattern of results existed when data from both countries were combined but also when they were modelled individually. Our findings indicate that where individuals experience a sudden reduction of income there are likely to be negative consequences for both mental and physical health. It is plausible that these findings would extend to other circumstances in which sudden loss of income may be experienced such as reductions in state social care, rising inflation and interest rates and sudden increases to the general cost of living.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Additional Information and Comments: | /© 2024 The Author(s). Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/) |
| Faculty / Department: | Faculty of Human and Digital Sciences > School of Psychology |
| Depositing User: | Greg Keenan |
| Date Deposited: | 19 Jun 2024 15:30 |
| Last Modified: | 11 Sep 2024 13:24 |
| URI: | https://hira.hope.ac.uk/id/eprint/4297 |
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