Food Insecurity and Less Frequent Cooking Dinner at Home Are Associated with Lower Diet Quality in a National Sample of Low-Income Adults in the United States during the Initial Months of the Coronavirus Disease 2019 Pandemic

BACKGROUND: Food insecurity is a critical public health problem in the United States that has been associated with poor diet quality. Cooking dinner more frequently is associated with better diet quality. OBJECTIVE: This study aimed to examine how food insecurity and dinner cooking frequency are associated with diet quality during the initial months of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic. DESIGN: This cross-sectional study analyzed data from a national web-based survey (June 23 to July 1, 2020). PARTICIPANTS/SETTING: Participants were 1,739 low-income (<250% of the federal poverty level) adults in the United States. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES: The outcome was diet quality, measured by the Prime Diet Quality Score (PDQS-30D). The PDQS-30D is a food frequency questionnaire-based, 22-component diet quality index. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Food security status (high, marginal, low, or very low) and frequency of cooking dinner (7, 5 to 6, 3 to 4, or 0 to 2 times/week) were evaluated in relation to PDQS-30D scores (possible range = zero to 126) in age- and sex and gender-, and fully adjusted linear regression models. Postestimation margins were used to predict mean PDQS-30D score by food security status and dinner cooking frequency. The interaction between food security status and frequency of cooking dinner was also tested. RESULTS: Overall, the mean PDQS-30D score was 51.9 ± 11 points (possible range = zero to 126). The prevalence of food insecurity (low/very low) was 43%, 37% of the sample cooked 7 times/week and 15% cooked 0 to 2 times/week. Lower food security and less frequent cooking dinner were both associated with lower diet quality. Very low food security was associated with a 3.2-point lower PDQS-30D score (95% CI –4.6 to –1.8) compared with those with high food security. Cooking dinner 0 to 2 times/week was associated with a 4.4-point lower PDQS-30D score (95% CI –6.0 to –2.8) compared with cooking 7 times/week. The relationship between food insecurity and diet quality did not differ based on cooking dinner frequency. CONCLUSIONS: During the initial months of the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic food insecurity and less frequently cooking dinner at home were both associated with lower diet quality among low-income Americans. More research is needed to identify and address barriers to low-income households’ ability to access, afford and prepare enough nutritious food for a healthy diet.