Factors associated with food delivery app use in young adults

Abstract

Food delivery apps are highly popular among young adults and are often used to purchase calorie-dense foods, which are associated with a variety of health issues such as increased risk for obesity. Limited research exists on the use of food delivery apps and the research that has been conducted, focused on adults, suggests that food delivery app use differs by sociodemographic factors. Thus, the purpose of this study is 1) to describe food delivery app use among young adults, and 2) to examine the association between young adult food delivery app use and factors including age, race, ethnicity, sex, SES, food insecurity, living arrangement, financial responsibility, and full-time student status. Data are from the Promoting Young Adult Health Survey, a cross-sectional online survey with 1,038 young adults online from the Qualtrics panel January-February 2022. Poisson regression was used to examine the relationship between food delivery app use and the sociodemographic variables. Our results suggest that participants who reported being non-Hispanic Black and Hispanic had greater food delivery app use frequency as compared to participants who reported being white. Having higher perceived subjective social status, being food insecure, being financially responsible, and being a full-time student were all significantly associated with greater food delivery app use frequency. Living with someone else was significantly associated with lower food delivery app use frequency. Age, sex, and ‘Other’ Race/ethnicity were not associated with food delivery app use frequency. Overall, young adults use food delivery apps approximately twice a week with vulnerable groups such as Black and Hispanic young adults and young adults reporting food insecurity having greater frequency of use. This study provides a first step in understanding the characteristics of young adults who use food delivery apps more frequently. Given that this new technology can both increase access to unhealthy food options as well as healthy food options, future research is needed to better understand the types of food purchased through food delivery apps and the differences by the sociodemographic factors explored in this study.Kinesiology and Health Educatio