Abstract
Food insecurity is common among college students in the United States and is associated with poorer health-related outcomes and academic performance. The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of food insecurity at a large, public university in Mississippi, a state with the second highest rate of food insecurity in the nation, and to examine the associations between food insecurity, depression, and race in this group of students. Food security was measured using the United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Survey Module: Six-Item Short Form, and depression was measured using the Patient Health Questionnaire-9. In total, 131 students ages 18–24 participated in the study. Food insecurity was present in 38.2% of students surveyed. The odds of food insecurity were higher among African American students compared to Caucasian students (OR = 3.50, 95% CI: 1.38, 8.90). Students with very low food security had 4.52-times greater odds of having depression than food-secure students (p = 0.011, 95% CI: 1.42, 14.36). Neither body mass index nor body fat percentage were associated with food security status. Further research is needed on strategies to address the risk of depression among food-insecure college students and the racial disparity in food insecurity rates present among college students.
Highlights
Food insecurity is an economic and social condition marked by having an inadequate amount of food to live an active, healthy life [1]
Our results suggest that the severity of food insecurity is associated with the severity of symptoms of depression
We found that college students who were food insecure had depression that was marked especially by symptoms of: (1) feeling down, hopeless, or depressed, (2) trouble sleeping, (3) feeling tired or having little energy, (4) poor appetite or overeating, and (5) feeling bad about oneself
Summary
Food insecurity is an economic and social condition marked by having an inadequate amount of food to live an active, healthy life [1]. In 2018, 11.1% of households in the United States were food insecure for at least part of the year [2]. Populations traditionally at a higher risk for food insecurity include single-parent households, households with children, households with single individuals living alone, and African American and Hispanic households [3]. There has been an increasing awareness of the presence of food insecurity in college campuses in the United States. The rate of food insecurity among college students is estimated to be approximately
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