Food Security, Financial Resources, and Mental Health: Evidence during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Jackie Yenerall,Kimberly Jensen

doi:10.3390/nu14010161

Abstract

COVID-19 has negatively impacted many households’ financial well-being, food security, and mental health status. This paper investigates the role financial resources play in understanding the relationship between food security and mental health among U.S. households using data from a survey in June 2020. Results show job loss and savings draw down to pay for household bills had a significant relationship with both lower food security and greater numbers of poor mental health days during the pandemic.

Highlights

Food insecurity occurs when households lack sufficient resources to access enough food to maintain a healthy life [1]
Our study found that a decline in monthly income and the use of savings to pay for bills had a direct association with both food security status and mental health outcomes
The use of savings to pay for bills increased the likelihood of either low or very low food security and increased the odds of more days or poor mental health in the past month

Summary

Introduction

Food insecurity occurs when households lack sufficient resources to access enough food to maintain a healthy life [1]. Addressing household food insecurity is of interest to policymakers in part because prior research has shown it has a negative effect on physical health [2]. One of the challenges in isolating the influence of food insecurity on mental health is addressing the influence that financial resources have on both food insecurity and mental health. This relationship is concerning during the COVID-19 pandemic, which has had implications for household’s physical and mental health and their financial well-being. The purpose of this article is to investigate the role financial resources play in understanding the relationship between food security and mental health using data collected in the United States (U.S.) in June 2020

Objectives

Methods

Results

Discussion

Conclusion