Healthy and sustainable diets in times of crisis: a longitudinal, mixed-methods study of risk factors and coping mechanisms in UK parents during the COVID-19 pandemic

Bridge, G., Vogt, J. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3178-2805, Armstrong, B., Schmidt Rivera, X., Kaur, A., Stetkiewicz, S. and Stetkiewicz, S. (2025) Healthy and sustainable diets in times of crisis: a longitudinal, mixed-methods study of risk factors and coping mechanisms in UK parents during the COVID-19 pandemic. Sustainability, 17 (13). 5878. ISSN 2071-1050 doi: 10.3390/su17135878

Abstract/Summary

To develop interventions and policies to promote healthy and sustainable diets during times of crisis, it is important to understand how populations respond to such situations based on real-life examples. Using the recent COVID-19 pandemic as a case study to identify risk and protective factors for such situations, we implemented the first longitudinal mixedmethods approach of this topic to date. Data were collected from a sample of UK parents (stratified for gender and socioeconomic status) through two surveys and a set of focus groups during the pandemic. The focus groups identified multifaceted drivers of change linked to capability (e.g., shielding), opportunity (e.g., time, food access and availability), and motivation (e.g., reflective motivation, stress and mental health challenges) barriers. High levels of COVID-19 stress were linked with less healthy and sustainable diets in the survey results, while higher social cohesion, reflective motivation to consume healthy foods, and positive coping scores were protective, and linked to healthier and more sustainable diets. A range of coping strategies were identified, including home cooking and meal planning, which could provide a basis for future intervention development to reduce stress, maintain wellbeing, and improve dietary outcomes in future crisis situations.

Item Type	Article
URI	https://centaur.reading.ac.uk/id/eprint/123396
Identification Number/DOI	10.3390/su17135878
Refereed	Yes
Divisions	Life Sciences > School of Psychology and Clinical Language Sciences > Department of Psychology
Publisher	MPDI
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