SEARCHCROSS-SECTIONALpediatrics, nutrition

cross-sectional·pediatrics, nutrition, public health, epidemiology, family medicine·PMC10564603

Ultra-processed food consumption is associated with variations in daily routines in elementary schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile

Public Health Nutrition · 5 authors, 4 centres

AI SUMMARY

FIDELITY 100%

POPULATIONChildren from the Food Environment Chilean Cohort (n=428, 8–10 years old) from low- and middle-income neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile.

INTERVENTIONVariations in child daily routines (eating, playing, studying) during COVID-19 school closures.

COMPARISONSchool preparedness for online teaching and school closure difficulties for caregivers.

This summary was generated by AI from a single paper. It has not been reviewed by a clinician and is not clinical advice. Verify against the source before acting on it.

AGENT 01 · STRUCTURED SUMMARY

TRACE TO SOURCE

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TL;DR

This cross-sectional study of 428 Chilean schoolchildren found that less structured daily routines for eating, playing, and studying during COVID-19 school closures were associated with higher consumption of ultra-processed foods.

Full summary

1,164 CHARS

This cross-sectional study assessed associations between ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and home-school learning environment characteristics among 428 Chilean elementary schoolchildren during COVID-19 school closures. The primary outcome was UPF consumption measured by a validated Nova screener. Using the structured days hypothesis, the study analyzed three constructs: school preparedness for online teaching, school closure difficulties for caregivers, and child daily routine. After adjusting for child and school characteristics, a statistically significant negative association was found between child routine for eating, play and study and UPF consumption (β = –0.20). No significant associations were found for school preparedness or school closure difficulties. Limitations include the cross-sectional design preventing causal inference and the use of an ad hoc scoring scale for home-school environment constructs. The findings suggest that disruptions to structured daily routines during school closures were associated with higher UPF intake, highlighting the potential regulatory role of the school environment on children's eating behaviors.

PICO

PPOPULATION

Children from the Food Environment Chilean Cohort (n=428, 8–10 years old) from low- and middle-income neighborhoods in Santiago, Chile.

IINTERVENTION

Variations in child daily routines (eating, playing, studying) during COVID-19 school closures.

OOUTCOME

Ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption measured by a Nova screener score.

STUDY TYPE

cross-sectional

SPECIALTY

pediatrics

SUMMARISED BY

AI pipeline

FIDELITY CHECK

100% · A

ORIGINAL PAPER

PMC10564603

Ultra-processed food consumption is associated with variations in daily routines in elementary schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile

Public Health Nutrition

READ THE FULL PAPER

ABSTRACT

Objective: To assess the association between child ultra-processed food (UPF) consumption and home-school learning environment characteristics during school closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic in schoolchildren with low- and middle income in Chile. Design: Cross-sectional. UPF consumption was collected using the Nova screener. We apply the structured days hypothesis (SDH) to assess home-school learning environment characteristics with three constructs that summarised school preparedness for online teaching and learning, school closure difficulties for caregivers and child routine. We explored associations between child UPF consumption and home-school environment characteristics using multivariate linear regression analyses after controlling for child demographic and school characteristics. Setting: Low- and middle-income neighbourhoods in southeastern Santiago, Chile. Participants: Children from the Food Environment Chilean Cohort ( n 428, 8–10 years old). Results: Based on the Nova score, child mean consumption of UPF was 4·3 ( sd 1·9) groups. We found a statistically significant negative association between child routine for eating, play and study and child UPF consumption when we adjusted for child sociodemographic (model 1: β = –0·19, (95 % CI –0·40, 0·02)) and school characteristics (model 2: β = –0·20, (95 % CI –0·41, 0·00)). Associations between school preparedness for online teaching or school closure difficulties and UPF were not statistically significant. Conclusions: Variations in child routines during the COVID-19 pandemic were negatively associated with UPF intake in schoolchildren with low- and middle income. Our findings are consistent with the SDH, suggesting the school environment helps regulate eating behaviours. Future research should evaluate what happens when children return to in-person classes at school.

CITATION EXPORT

Gabriela Fretes, Camila Corvalán, Christina D Economos et al.. Ultra-processed food consumption is associated with variations in daily routines in elementary schoolchildren during the COVID-19 pandemic in Chile. Public Health Nutrition. (2023). https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980023001593

AUTHORS

5 · 4 CENTRES

Gabriela Fretes, Camila Corvalán, Christina D Economos, Norbert LW Wilson, Sean B Cash

1 International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI), 1201 Eye St NW, Washington, DC 20005, USA
2 Instituto de Nutrición y Tecnología de los Alimentos (INTA), Universidad de Chile, Avda. Macul 5524, Santiago 7830489, Chile
3 Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 150 Harrison Avenue, Boston, MA 02111, USA
4 Duke Divinity School, Sanford School of Public Policy, and World Food Policy Center, Duke University, 407 Chapel Drive, Durham, NC, 27708-0968, USA