在COVID-19大流行的早期,美国农业部(USDA)州政府,学区采取了前所未有的措施来减轻疫情对学生营养的影响。为了检查应急反应对6岁儿童营养结果的影响,这项研究分析了一项全国儿童喂养行为研究的纵向数据,妇女特别补充营养计划,婴儿,和儿童-婴儿和幼儿喂养实践研究-2(WICITFPS-2)。调查结果包括粮食不安全流行率没有差异;然而,食物来源发生了变化,与COVID紧急宣布前(ED前)组的儿童相比,COVID紧急宣布后(ED后)组的儿童从商店和社区食品项目中消耗更多的膳食能量,从餐馆和学校消耗更少的膳食能量(所有比较p<0.01)。对2015年健康饮食指数得分和5至6岁之间营养素摄入量的人内平均差异的检查显示,两组之间没有统计学上的显着差异:ED后组的儿童食用的蔬菜略少(p=0.02)和钠(p=0.01)比ED前的同龄人少。研究结果表明,在大流行的最初几个月,维持儿童营养的紧急努力在很大程度上取得了成功。需要进行研究以了解紧急努力促成这些发现的机制。
Early in the COVID-19 pandemic, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA), State governments, and school districts took unprecedented steps to mitigate the pandemic\'s impact on students\' nutrition. To examine the effect of emergency responses on 6-year-old children\'s nutritional outcomes, this study analyzed longitudinal data from a national study of children\'s feeding practices, the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children-Infant and Toddler Feeding Practices Study-2 (WIC ITFPS-2). Findings include no differences in food insecurity prevalence; however, there were shifts in sources of food, with children in the post-COVID-emergency-declaration (post-ED) group consuming more dietary energy from stores and community food programs and less from restaurants and schools than children in the pre-COVID-emergency-declaration (pre-ED) group (p < 0.01 for all comparisons). Examination of within-person mean differences in 2015 Healthy Eating Index scores and nutrient intakes between ages 5 and 6 years revealed few statistically significant differences between the two groups: children in the post-ED group consumed slightly fewer vegetables (p = 0.02) and less sodium (p = 0.01) than their pre-ED peers. Findings suggest emergency efforts to maintain children\'s nutrition were largely successful in the early months of the pandemic. Research is needed to understand the mechanisms by which emergency efforts contributed to these findings.