The UK Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme and changes in diet, physical activity and sleep during the COVID-19 pandemic: Evidence from eight longitudinal studies

Background: In March 2020 the UK implemented the Coronavirus Job Retention Scheme (furlough) to minimize job losses. Our aim was to investigate associations between furlough and diet, physical activity, and sleep during the early stages of the pandemic. Methods: We analysed data from 25,092 participants aged 16 to 66 years from eight UK longitudinal studies. Changes in employment (including being furloughed) were defined by comparing employment status pre- and during the first lockdown. Health behaviours included fruit and vegetable consumption, physical activity, and sleeping patterns. Study-specific estimates obtained using modified Poisson regression, adjusting for socio-demographic characteristics and pre-pandemic health and health behaviours, were statistically pooled. Associations were also stratified by sex, age, and education. Findings: Across studies, between 8 and 25% of participants were furloughed. Compared to those who remained working, furloughed workers were slightly less likely to be physically inactive (RRR:0.85, [0.75-0.97], I2=58.7%) and did not differ in diet and sleep behaviours. In stratified analyses, furlough was associated with low fruit and vegetable consumption among males (RRR=1.11; 95%CI: 1.01-1.22; I2: 0%) but not females (RRR=0.84; 95%CI: 0.68-1.04; I2: 65%). Considering change in behaviour, furloughed workers were more likely than those who remained working to report increased fruit and vegetable consumption, exercise, and hours of sleep. Interpretation: Those furloughed exhibited broadly similar levels of health behaviours with those who remained in employment during the initial stages of the pandemic. Social protection policies in the post-pandemic recovery period and during future economic crises may help protect population health. Funding: Medical Research Council.

Download Full-text

Lifestyle changes associated with participation in colorectal cancer screening: Prospective data from the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing

Journal of Medical Screening ◽

10.1177/0969141318803973 ◽

2018 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 84-91 ◽

Cited By ~ 1

Author(s):

Claire Stevens ◽

Samuel G Smith ◽

Charlotte Vrinten ◽

Jo Waller ◽

Rebecca J Beeken

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Longitudinal Study ◽

Cancer Screening ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Vigorous Physical Activity ◽

Health Behaviours ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽

Teachable Moment ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

English Longitudinal Study

Objectives Population-based cancer screening has been described as a teachable moment for behaviour change. This research examined the effect of faecal occult blood testing (FOBT) participation on smoking, alcohol consumption, fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity. Setting Data were from screening-naïve men within the English Longitudinal Study of Ageing, receiving their first FOBT invitation (n = 774). Four waves of data were included in analyses (wave 4, 2008/2009 – wave 7, 2014/2015). Baseline data were from the wave prior to FOBT invitation, and follow-up data were from the next consecutive wave (two years later). Methods The effects of FOBT participation, time and group-by-time interactions on health behaviours were investigated using generalised estimating equations. Almost two-thirds of the sample (62.5%; n = 484) had participated in FOBT. Results Screening participants were less likely to smoke (odds ratio (OR): 0.45, 95% confidence interval (CI): 0.29–0.68) and more likely to meet fruit and vegetable consumption guidelines (OR: 1.70, 95% CI: 1.14–2.55). Smoking decreased over time (OR: 0.74, 95% CI: 0.62–0.89), but adherence to alcohol guidelines also decreased (OR: 0.71, 95% CI: 0.53–0.91). A group-by-time interaction was found for vigorous physical activity; the odds of taking part in vigorous physical activity increased for FOBT participants, but decreased for non-participants (OR: 1.40, 95% CI: 1.01–1.95). Conclusions This research provides tentative support for FOBT as a teachable moment for increasing vigorous physical activity. However, overall, there was limited evidence for spontaneous improvement in multiple health behaviours following participation.

Download Full-text

Local Inequalities in Health Behaviours: Longitudinal Findings from the Stockton-on-Tees Cohort Study

International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health ◽

10.3390/ijerph182111018 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 18 (21) ◽

pp. 11018

Author(s):

Nasima Akhter ◽

Ross Stewart Fairbairn ◽

Mark Pearce ◽

Jon Warren ◽

Adetayo Kasim ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Cohort Study ◽

Alcohol Use ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Health Behaviours ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

Inequalities In Health ◽

Deprived Areas

This paper provides a longitudinal examination of local inequalities in health behaviours during a period of austerity, exploring the role of ‘place’ in explaining these inequalities. Data from the Stockton-on-Tees prospective cohort study of 836 individuals were analysed and followed over 18 months (37% follow-up). Generalised estimating equation models estimated the deprivation gap in health behaviours (smoking status, alcohol use, fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity practices) between the 20% most- and least-deprived neighborhoods (LSOAs), explored any temporal changes during austerity, and examined the underpinning role of compositional and contextual determinants. All health behaviours, except for frequent physical activity, varied significantly by deprivation (p ≤ 0.001). Smoking was lower in the least-deprived areas (OR 0.21, CI 0.14 to 0.30), while alcohol use (OR 2.75, CI 1.98 to 3.82) and fruit and vegetable consumption (OR 2.55, CI 1.80 to 3.62) were higher in the least-deprived areas. The inequalities were relatively stable throughout the study period. Material factors (such as employment, education and housing tenure) were the most-important and environmental factors the least-important explanatory factors. This study suggests that material factors are the most important ‘place’ determinants of health behaviours. Health promotion activities should better reflect these drivers.

Download Full-text

Lettuce Be Happy: The Effects of Fruit and Vegetable Consumption on Subjective Well-Being in the UK

SSRN Electronic Journal ◽

10.2139/ssrn.3211798 ◽

2018 ◽

Author(s):

Neel Ocean ◽

Peter Howley ◽

Jonathan Ensor

Keyword(s):

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Well Being ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽

Subjective Well Being ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

The Uk

Download Full-text

Fruit and vegetable consumption and weight change in middle-aged participants of the UK Women's Cohort Study

Proceedings of The Nutrition Society ◽

10.1017/s0029665109992692 ◽

2010 ◽

Vol 69 (OCE1) ◽

Author(s):

V. J. Burley ◽

E. F. Taylor ◽

D. C. Greenwood ◽

J. E. Cade

Keyword(s):

Cohort Study ◽

Weight Change ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

Middle Aged ◽

The Uk

Download Full-text

Meeting fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity recommendations among adolescents intending to lose weight

Preventive Medicine Reports ◽

10.1016/j.pmedr.2018.10.021 ◽

2019 ◽

Vol 13 ◽

pp. 11-15 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

Lisa Kakinami ◽

Stephanie A. Houle-Johnson ◽

Zewditu Demissie ◽

Sylvia Santosa ◽

Janet E. Fulton

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽

Fruit And Vegetable ◽

Physical Activity Recommendations ◽

Activity Recommendations

Download Full-text

Rams Have Heart, a Mobile App Tracking Activity and Fruit and Vegetable Consumption to Support the Cardiovascular Health of College Students: Development and Usability Study (Preprint)

10.2196/preprints.15156 ◽

2019 ◽

Author(s):

Michelle C Krzyzanowski ◽

Paul N Kizakevich ◽

Vanessa Duren-Winfield ◽

Randall Eckhoff ◽

Joel Hampton ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Physical Activity ◽

Query Language ◽

Vegetable Intake ◽

Vegetable Consumption ◽

User Participation ◽

Mobile App ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Consumption ◽

Fruit And Vegetable Intake ◽

Black College ◽

Fruit And Vegetable

BACKGROUND With the increasing use of mobile devices to access the internet and as the main computing system of apps, there is a growing market for mobile health apps to provide self-care advice. Their effectiveness with regard to diet and fitness tracking, for example, needs to be examined. The majority of American adults fail to meet daily recommendations for healthy behavior. Testing user engagement with an app in a controlled environment can provide insight into what is effective and not effective in an app focused on improving diet and exercise. OBJECTIVE We developed Rams Have Heart, a mobile app, to support a cardiovascular disease (CVD) intervention course. The app tracks healthy behaviors, including fruit and vegetable consumption and physical activity, throughout the day. This paper aimed to present its functionality and evaluated adherence among the African American college student population. METHODS We developed the app using the Personal Health Informatics and Intervention Toolkit, a software framework. Rams Have Heart integrates self-reported health screening with health education, diary tracking, and user feedback modules to acquire data and assess progress. The parent study, conducted at a historically black college and university-designated institution in southeastern United States, consisted of a semester-long intervention administered as an academic course in the fall, for 3 consecutive years. Changes were made after the cohort 1 pilot study, so results only include cohorts 2 and 3, comprising a total of 115 students (n=55 intervention participants and n=54 control participants) aged from 17 to 24 years. Data collected over the study period were transferred using the secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure protocol and stored in a secure Structured Query Language server database accessible only to authorized persons. SAS software was used to analyze the overall app usage and the specific results collected. RESULTS Of the 55 students in the intervention group, 27 (49%) students in cohort 2 and 25 (45%) in cohort 3 used the Rams Have Heart app at least once. Over the course of the fall semester, app participation dropped off gradually until exam week when most students no longer participated. The average fruit and vegetable intake increased slightly, and activity levels decreased over the study period. CONCLUSIONS Rams Have Heart was developed to allow daily tracking of fruit and vegetable intake and physical activity to support a CVD risk intervention for a student demographic susceptible to obesity, heart disease, and type 2 diabetes. We conducted an analysis of app usage, function, and user results. Although a mobile app provides privacy and flexibility for user participation in a research study, Rams Have Heart did not improve compliance or user outcomes. Health-oriented research studies relying on apps in support of user goals need further evaluation.

Download Full-text