Nutritional Impact of Economic Downturn: How the Great Recession Shaped Dietary Behaviors in US Adults

OBJECTIVES: Food insecure individuals are at greater risk for nutrient insufficiency and subsequent increases in chronic disease risk. The Great Recession of 2007–2010 resulted in unprecedented increases in the proportion of US households that were food insecure. To date, little has been done to explore the impact of economic recession on dietary intake the population level. The goals of the present study were to assess changes in dietary behaviors and nutrient intake in a nationally representative sample of US residents in the years surrounding the Great Recession. METHODS: The present study includes data from 38,070 adults across five cycles of the NHANES (2005–2014) to explore the impact of economic downturn and recovery on dietary intake. Dietary data was collected using 24 hour-recall. Household food security status was provided in the NHANES dataset. For the purposes of the present analysis, the 2005–2006 cycle were considered “Pre-recession”, data from the 2007–2010 cycles were considered “Recession period”, and data from the 2011–2014 cycle were considered “Recession recovery period”. Multivariable regression models were used to evaluate differences in mean usual intake of foods and nutrients in the years surrounding the Great Recession. Models were stratified by household food security status, and adjusted for energy, age, sex, race/ethnicity, education level, poverty: income ratio, and BMI. RESULTS: Unsurprisingly, the impact of economic downturn was found to disproportionately impact individuals living in food insecure households. During the Recession period, individuals living in food insecure households had lower intakes of protein, and dark green vegetables (P < 0.03), and significantly higher intakes of total sugars (P = 0.002). CONCLUSIONS: The findings demonstrate that the diets of individuals in food insecure households are disproportionately impacted by economic downturn. These findings have implications for the current COVID-19 pandemic. Using historical data to understand and anticipate potential nutrient needs and areas of concern may better help public health nutritionists serve communities faced with food insecurity. FUNDING SOURCES: N/A.