Impact of COVID19 pandemic on consumption of fruits and vegetables among adults aged 18-59 years, a case of Katwe Kinyoro, Makindye division, Kampala district

Abstract

Background: Fruit and vegetables are an important component of a healthy diet and, if consumed daily in sufficient amounts, could help prevent major diseases such as cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) and certain cancers. Approximately 2.7 million deaths have been attributed to inadequate fruit and vegetable consumption. Developing countries such as Uganda are still faced with a small portion of the population consuming less than the required amounts of fruits and vegetables. In addition, the situation worsened due to Covid 19 pandemic as a result of restriction on the movement which led to inadequate access to the fruits and vegetables. Aim: To determine the impact of Covid 19 pandemic on fruits and vegetable consumption among adults of Katwe- Kinyoro aged 18-59 years old. Methods: The current study employed a cross sectional study design and a sample of 100 adults participated in the study. The data was collected using a semi structured questionnaire. Results: Out of the 100 adults selected for the study, 64% were females while 36% were males. The consumption of fruits and vegetables among the study population was relatively low with (33%) consuming at least 2-3 times a week. In addition, 30% consumed 3-5 times a week and 18% reported daily consumption of fruits and vegetables. The commonly consumed fruits were passion fruits (46%), bananas (41%) and oranges (30%) while the vegetables were onions (85%), tomatoes (70%), and green pepper (55%) among others. The main reasons for fruits and vegetable consumption were; abundance (70%), taste (63%), being cheap (59%), and accessibility (58%). In addition, the barriers to consumption were; being expensive (60%), inaccessibility (42%) due to the restrictions of the lockdown that included reduced movements and being unable to grow the fruits and vegetables. Conclusion: The study showed that the Covid 19 pandemic negatively impacted fruits and vegetable consumption as 50% of the respondents reported to have reduced their consumption of fruits and vegetables. Therefore is a need to increase community outreach and sensitization of the people about the importance of daily adequate consumption of fruits and vegetables. Keywords: Fruits and vegetable consumption, Covid 19, Slums