The Role of Food Insecurity and Dietary Factors on Intensity of Physical Activity

Abstract

Food insecurity is a prevalent issue among college students and is defined as the lack of access to reliable and nutritionally adequate foods. It leads to poor diet quality and increased anxiety and stress, which can make motivation to participate in physical activity more challenging. However, the specific role that food insecurity plays in physical activity and diet quality among the college population has yet to be thoroughly studied. To address this gap in the literature, the current study aims to assess the impact of food insecurity on diet quality and physical activity. It is hypothesized that those who report food insecurity will engage in less physical activity and have lower diet quality, potentially due to the lack of energy from a poor diet, and the preoccupation with pressing concerns for food access. Individuals over the age of 18 completed an anonymous survey that was distributed via social media and messaging platforms. The survey included demographic questions and seven validated scales including the Food Insecurity Experience Scale, International Physical Activity Questionnaire, Rosenberg Self Esteem Scale, Food Mood Questionnaire, Perceived Stress Scale, Health Promoting Activities Scale, and Satisfaction, Alertness, Timing, Effciency, and Duration (SATED) Questionnaire. These scales measured food insecurity status, physical activity levels, self-esteem, dietary habits, perceived stress, health promoting activities, and sleep. Data from 561 individuals were analyzed using Pearson’s Correlation Coeffcient in IBM SPSS Version 28.0. The results show that being unable to consume nutritiously adequate foods was negatively associated with participating in vigorous exercise (r= -0.122, p< 0.01). However, feeling hungry but not eating and going a whole day without eating were positively associated with performing moderate activity (r= 0.124, p< 0.01; r= 0.130, p< 0.01). Alongside this, it was revealed that consumption of whole grain foods was positively associated with vigorous physical activity and negatively correlated with the consumption of fast or pre-packaged foods. (r= 0.168, p<0.01; r= -0.124 p<0.01). In addition, the inability to eat healthy and nutritious foods was found to be negatively associated with consumption of whole grain foods and positively associated with the consumption of fast or pre-packaged foods (r= -0.110 p<0.01; r= 0.115 p< 0.01). These findings confirm that food insecurity is associated with lower diet quality and likely moderates the type of exercise performed. These phenomena may be explained by potentially lower metabolic energy, constant food-related stress, which negatively impacts motivation to perform, and the impact of socioeconomic status on the physical activity of college students. No funding was provided to conduct this research study. This is the full abstract presented at the American Physiology Summit 2024 meeting and is only available in HTML format. There are no additional versions or additional content available for this abstract. Physiology was not involved in the peer review process.