Dietary Changes during the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Longitudinal Study Using Objective Sequential Diet Records from an Electronic Purchase System in a Workplace Cafeteria in Japan

Abstract

As a result of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic-related restrictions, food systems have undergone unprecedented changes, with the potential to affect dietary behavior. We aimed to investigate workers’ dietary changes resulting from the introduction of regulations to combat COVID-19 in a Japanese factory cafeteria. Objective data on daytime dietary intake were automatically collected from electronic purchase system records. The dataset included the weekly data of 890 men from 1 July 2019 to 30 September 2020. The cafeteria regulations came into effect on 10 April 2020; in this context, the purchase of dishes and estimated dietary intake were monitored. The number of cafeteria visits decreased slightly after the introduction of the regulations. The purchase of main and side dishes also decreased, but the purchase of grain dishes was less affected. When compared with summer 2019 (pre-pandemic, no regulations: 1 July to 29 September 2019), in summer 2020 (during the pandemic and with regulations: 29 June to 30 September 2020), the estimated mean grain, meat, fish, and total energy intake was stable; however, vegetable intake decreased by 11%. As the COVID-19 pandemic continues, workplace cafeteria regulations need to be monitored to avoid unfavorable dietary changes in employees.