Associations Between College-Student Food Insecurity and Diet at a Large, Public Midwestern University

Abstract

Abstract Objectives Food insecurity, a state of not being able to consistently access nutritious food, is an issue that 43% of students on college campuses experience. This study examines the associations between food insecurity and dietary intake in a sample of undergraduate students at a large, public Midwestern university. Methods A Qualtrics survey was completed by 1033 students, recruited from three dining halls as part of a different sugar-sweetened beverage intervention study. Baseline data, collected prior to the intervention, were used in the present study. Food security was assessed using the 6-item Short Form Food Security Survey Module and dietary intake was assessed using the National Cancer Institute 26-item Dietary Screener Questionnaire and the Beverage Intake Questionnaire-15. Generalized linear regression models were used to examine differences in dietary intake by student's food security status. Results After adjusting for sociodemographic variables, food-insecure students reported 9% lower intake of fruits, 9% lower intake of vegetables, 10% higher intake of dairy, 6% higher intake of total added sugars, 10% higher intake of added sugars from sugar-sweetened beverages, 4% higher intake of calcium, and 4% lower intake of fiber, compared to food-secure students. With respect to beverage intake, food-insecure students had 55% higher intake of fruit drinks, 148% higher intake of energy drinks, 129% higher intake of sweetened teas, 46% higher intake of flavored milk, 54% higher intake of total sugar-sweetened beverages, and 66% higher intake of diet soda. Conclusions Despite having similar access to university dining halls, there were significant differences in the diets of college students by food security status, providing more reason to increase food insecurity awareness among college students and contribute to initiatives to alleviate food insecurity, such as on-campus food pantry programs. Funding Sources This study was supported by a grant from Poverty Solutions at the University of Michigan.