Household income and loss of control eating in adolescence: Examining the role of food insecurity

Abstract

Loss of control (LOC) eating is prevalent among adolescents and has been related to significant mental and physical health concerns. A growing body of research suggests that youth from lower income households are at risk for LOC eating. Food insecurity is an understudied contextual factor that may compound the risk for LOC eating in adolescents from low-income backgrounds. The present study sought to: 1) clarify the association between food insecurity and LOC eating among adolescents; and 2) examine whether household food insecurity moderated the association between income-to-needs and LOC eating. As part of a laboratory-based study, adolescents ages 12–17 (N = 60; 33% from low-income households; 53.3% female) completed the Eating Disorder Examination-Questionnaire to measure LOC eating. Parents reported the household food insecurity status and household income, used to calculate income-to-needs ratio. Higher household food insecurity was positively associated with adolescent LOC eating (b = 0.662, t(59) = 5.09, p < .01), after controlling for adolescent BMI percentile, race, ethnicity, biological sex, and age. Food insecurity significantly moderated the association between income-to-needs and LOC eating, ΔF(1,56) = 11.99, p < .01, with the interaction effect explaining an additional 12% of variance. Specifically, lower household income-to-needs was associated with greater LOC eating among adolescents at higher levels of household food insecurity. This finding expands upon prior work by highlighting specific socioeconomic factors that place youth from low-income backgrounds at even greater risk for negative health outcomes. Future research is needed to understand potential ways to intervene for adolescents to prevent future LOC eating in the context of food insecurity.