The effect of time use and food cost on dietary quality.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: To develop a questionnaire to measure food nutrition, food expenditures and time spent in food-related activities; and to assess the association between diet quality, time spent in food-related activities and food expenditures using data from a pilot study. DESIGN: Cross-sectional study. Multiple linear regression models were used to analyse participants' survey response behaviours and the relationship between food nutritional quality and time and money expenditures. SETTING: Online survey using Qualtrics software in a public university located in West Texas, USA. PARTICIPANTS: Faculty and staff aged 18 years and older from a public university located in West Texas, USA. RESULTS: Combining questions from three survey instruments that collect data on food nutrition, food expenditures and time spent in food-related activities resulted in a thirty-page survey instrument. The median completion time of the survey instrument was about 30 min. Preliminary results suggest that time and money expenditures are associated with food quality but that their role is small relative to sociodemographic characteristics such as race and gender. CONCLUSIONS: Time and money expenditures are associated with food quality but their role is small relative to sociodemographic characteristics such as race and gender.