National Diet and Nutrition Survey: Diet and Physical Activity – a Follow-up Study during COVID-19, 2020

Abstract copyright UK Data Service and data collection copyright owner.The National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) Rolling Programme (RP) began in 2008 and is designed to assess the diet, nutrient intake and nutritional status of the general population aged 1.5 years and over living in private households in the UK. (For details of the previous NDNS series, which began in 1992, see the documentation for studies 3481, 4036, 4243 and 5140.)The programme is funded by Public Health England (PHE), an executive agency of the Department of Health, and the UK Food Standards Agency (FSA).The NDNS RP is currently carried out by a consortium comprising NatCen Social Research (NatCen) (NatCen, contract lead) and the MRC Epidemiology Unit, University of Cambridge (scientific lead). The MRC Epidemiology Unit joined the consortium in November 2017. Until December 2018, the consortium included the MRC Elsie Widdowson Laboratory, Cambridge (former scientific lead). In Years 1 to 5 (2008/09 – 2012/13) the consortium also included the University College London Medical School (UCL).Survey activities at the MRC Epidemiology Unit are delivered with the support of the National Institute for Health Research (NIHR) Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre (IS-BRC-1215- 20014), comprising the NIHR BRC Nutritional Biomarker Laboratory and NIHR BRC Dietary Assessment and Physical Activity Group. The NIHR Cambridge Biomedical Research Centre is a partnership between Cambridge University Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust and the University of Cambridge, funded by the NIHR. The NDNS RP provides the only source of high quality, nationally representative UK data on the types and quantities of foods consumed by individuals, from which estimates of nutrient intake for the population are derived. Results are used by Government to develop policy and monitor progress toward diet and nutrition objectives of UK Health Departments, for example work to tackle obesity and monitor progress towards a healthy, balanced diet as visually depicted in the Eatwell Guide. The NDNS RP provides an important source of evidence underpinning the Scientific Advisory Committee on Nutrition (SACN) work relating to national nutrition policy. The food consumption data are also used by the FSA to assess exposure to chemicals in food, as part of the risk assessment and communication process in response to a food emergency or to inform negotiations on setting regulatory limits for contaminants.Further information is available from the gov.uk National Diet and Nutrition Survey webpage.This study was a follow-up of National Diet and Nutrition Survey Rolling Programme (NDNS RP) participants and aimed to describe, and assess the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on, the diet and physical activity of people in the UK in 2020. Self-reported diet and physical activity data was collected between August and October 2020 for around 1,000 adults and children which was compared with their diet and activity data obtained at the time of their original NDNS RP interview. Data on food security, financial security and changes in dietary and health-related behaviours since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic in the UK in February 2020 were also collected in this study (but not previously in the NDNS RP) through a web questionnaire with the aim of helping to understand the context for any changes in diet and activity. Participants were also asked to complete 4 online dietary recalls over a 2 to 3 week period to assess their current diet. This was compared with their reported diet when originally assessed in the NDNS RP (on average 2 years 7 months earlier). Adults were also asked to complete a Recent Physical Activity Questionnaire (RPAQ), again to compare with their reported physical activity when originally assessed in the NDNS RP.Latest edition information For the second edition (September 2022), the Food Level dietary data file has been replaced with a new version, with the variable 'FoodNumber' added. An Excel format nutrient database has also been added to the study, and the documentation updated accordingly. The main NDNS study can be found under SN 6533.Main Topics:The study focuses on diet and physical activity during Covid-19, following up participants who completed the main NDNS between 2016 and 2020.