Higher Risk Of Food Insecurity Research Articles

Food Insecurity Among Community College Students: Prevalence and Association With Grade Point Average

This study investigated the prevalence of food insecurity among community college students (N = 301) and the relationship between food insecurity and student grade point average (GPA). It employed a cross-sectional intercept survey, utilizing the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Household Food Security Survey Module, student self-reported GPA, and demographic variables. The research setting was two community colleges in Maryland—one located in a low income urban area and one located in an affluent suburban area. Results demonstrate that 56% of the students in the overall sample were classified as food insecure. Students at higher risk of food insecurity included those who reported living alone and those who reported being single parents. Students identifying themselves as African American or as multiracial were also at increased risk for food insecurity. Food insecure students were more likely than food secure students to report a lower GPA (2.0–2.49) versus a higher GPA (3.5–4.0). Data suggest that food insecurity is an issue for a large percentage of the community college student sample. Food insecurity may have adverse effects on student academic performance and is a factor to be considered by college administrators, faculty, and students.

Food insecurity is associated with household insurance status and number of affected children among families of children with hemophilia (805.14)

Food insecurity (FI), the limited or uncertain availability of nutritionally adequate and safe food, negatively affects children’s health. Households (HH) of children with hemophilia (CWH) may be at increased risk for FI due to hemophilia‐related expenses.Objective: To quantify FI and its determinants among HH of CWH.Methods: FI and child health status, recorded at annual hemophilia visits between 5/2012 and 6/2013, were obtained by chart review. Descriptive statistics summarized participant characteristics. ANOVA and multivariable logistic regression (MLR) quantified associations with FI.Results: Data were obtained for 54 males aged 1 mo to 17 y. By severity, 29.6% had mild, 22.2% moderate, and 48.1% severe hemophilia. Prevalence of FI was 20.4% overall and 18.8% among HH of children with mild, moderate (8.3%), and severe disease (26.9%). FI was concentrated among HH enrolled in public (39.1%) vs. private insurance (6.5%, p<0.05). HH with >1 CWH were at higher risk for FI (71.4%) vs. others (12.8%; p<0.002). MLR revealed that having >1 CWH (OR=15.29, 95% CI: 1.96‐119.43, p<0.009) and public insurance (OR=7.62, 95% CI: 1.22‐ 47.54, p<0.03) were associated with higher odds of FI.Conclusions: HH of CWH are at risk for FI, especially HH with public insurance and/or >1 CWH. Screening for FI in specialty clinics is a promising approach to identify and target resources to address FI among HH of CWH.

Multi-Temporal Remote Sensing of Landscape Dynamics and Pattern Changes in Dire District, Southern, Ethiopia

Science and reporting information needs for monitoring dynamics in land-cover over time prompted research, and made operational, a wide variety of change detection methods utilizing multiple dates of remotely sensed data. Improper land use results in land degradation and decline in agricultural productivity. Hence, in order to get maximum benefits out of land, proper utilization of its resources is inevitable. The present study was aimed at identifying the land cover changes in the study area in the last 25 years and determines the extent and direction of change that has occurred. The study made use of Landsat TM 1986 and 2011 Remote Sensing Satellite Image for analysis to determine the extent and pattern of rangeland change. The results of the landuse/landcover change detection showed that in the last 25 years, 3 major changes were observed, grass land and open shrub land resource significantly decreased at a rate of 17.1 km2/year and 12 km2/year respectively. On the other hand in 25 years dense bushland, open bush land, dense shrub land and cultivated land has shown increment in size at a rate of 0.23 km2/year, 13.5 km2/year, 6.3 km2/year and 0.2 km2/year, respectively within 25 years. The expansion of unpalatable woody species significantly reduced the rangeland size and availability of grasses. The consequence of the decrease in herbaceous biomass production might result in high risk of food insecurity in the area unless proper interventions are made in time.

Food Insecurity and SNAP Participation in Mexican Immigrant Families: The Impact of the Outreach Initiative.

We study the factors associated with food insecurity and participation in the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) in Mexican immigrant families in the US. Estimates from analyses that control for a rich set of economic, demographic, and geographic variables show that children in Mexican immigrant families are more likely to be food insecure than children in native families, but are less likely to participate in SNAP. Further, more vulnerable groups such as the first-generation Mexican immigrant families, families in the US for less than 5 years, and families with non-citizen children - that are at a higher risk of food insecurity are the least likely to participate in SNAP. Our analysis suggests that the US Department of Agriculture outreach initiative and SNAP expansion under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act increased SNAP participation of the mixed-status Mexican families. We do not find any evidence that the outreach and ARRA expansion increased SNAP receipt among Mexican immigrant families with only non-citizen members who are likely to be undocumented.

Higher Food Prices May Threaten Food Security Status among American Low-Income Households with Children1,2

Children in food-insecure households are more likely to experience poorer health function and worse academic achievement. To investigate the relation between economic environmental factors and food insecurity among children, we examined the relation between general and specific food prices (fast food, fruits and vegetables, beverages) and risk of low (LFS) and very low food security (VLFS) status among low-income American households with children. Using information for 27,900 child-year observations from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Class of 1998–1999 linked with food prices obtained from the Cost of Living Data of the Council for Community and Economic Research, formerly known as the American Chamber of Commerce Researchers' Association, fixed effects models were estimated within stratified income groups. Higher overall food prices were associated with increased risk of LFS and VLFS (coefficient = 0.617; P < 0.05). Higher fast food and fruit and vegetable prices also contributed to higher risk of food insecurity (coefficient = 0.632, P < 0.01 for fast food; coefficient = 0.879, P < 0.01 for fruits and vegetables). However, increasing beverage prices, including the prices of soft drinks, orange juice, and coffee, had a protective effect on food security status, even when controlling for general food prices. Thus, although food price changes were strongly related to food security status among low-income American households with children, the effects were not uniform across types of food. These relations should be accounted for when implementing policies that change specific food prices.

Iron deficiency and anemia are not associated with food insecurity in pregnant women in the United States: NHANES 1999–2008

Food insecurity (FI) has been associated with low iron (Fe) intake in US children, adolescents, and non‐pregnant adults. Pregnant women may be at higher risk of FI and Fe deficiency (ID) as nutritional needs increase throughout pregnancy and more resources are needed to secure food. Maternal ID and anemia are associated with low birth weight and life‐long cognitive impairment in the child. The purpose of this study was to investigate the relationship of ID and FI among pregnant women ages 13 to 54 y (n=1,023) using data from NHANES 1999–2008. Food security was classified using the US Food Security Survey Module. ID was indicated using total body Fe, soluble transferrin receptor, or ferritin, and anemia by hemoglobin or hematocrit. The odds of ID, indicated by ferritin status, were 2.9 times higher for FI compared with food secure (FS) pregnant women. However, after excluding for inflammation, indicated by C‐reactive protein, the odds of ID were not significantly greater for FI compared with FS pregnant women. Models created for other indicators of ID and anemia were not significant. In conclusion, evidence for a significant association of food insecurity with iron deficiency or anemia in pregnant US women is insufficient, yet efforts to reduce the prevalence of ID and anemia should continue among both FS and FI pregnant women.Grant Funding Source: Purdue University Department of Nutrition Science

Factors related to household food insecurity in the Republic of Korea

To examine the prevalence of food insecurity and to identify factors that contribute to it in the Republic of Korea. A cross-sectional study. Data were selected from a secondary data set, the third Korean Welfare Panel Study. Household food insecurity was measured with a six-item Korean version of the US Household Food Security Survey Module. The differences in proportions or means of household characteristics, householder's characteristics, economic status and social benefits by food insecurity status were tested with the χ2 or t test. The independent associations of food insecurity with each characteristic were assessed with multivariate logistic regression analysis. The sample size consisted of 6238 households. The prevalence of food insecurity was 5.3 % among all households and 25.7 % among low-income households. Risk factors that were associated with a higher risk of food insecurity included living alone, unemployment, no job, low household income and living in a leased or rented home. For low-income households, living in a leased or rented home increased the risk of food insecurity. Among food-insecure households, 26.1 % of the full sample of households and 34.3 % of low-income households were participating in food assistance programmes. Food insecurity among the Korean population was related to household type, income, job status and housing. Food assistance programmes were not enough to completely alleviate food insecurity.

Food insecurity prevalence among college students at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa

To assess the prevalence and identify possible predictors of food insecurity among college students at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Cross-sectional survey, including the US Department of Agriculture's Household Food Security Survey Module, demographic and spending variables. University of Hawai'i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawai'i (USA). Four hundred and forty-one non-freshmen students from thirty-one randomly selected classes. Twenty-one per cent of students surveyed were food-insecure, while 24 % were at risk of food insecurity. Students at higher risk of food insecurity included those who reported living on campus and those living off-campus with room mates. Those identifying themselves as Hawaiians and Pacific Islanders, Filipinos and mixed were also at increased risk of food insecurity. Food insecurity is a significant problem among college students at the University of Hawai'i at Mānoa. Food availability and accessibility should be increased for these students through the establishment of on-campus food banks and student gardens. Future studies should assess the prevalence of food insecurity in other college campuses nationwide.

Prevalence and sociodemographic risk factors related to household food security in Aboriginal peoples in Canada

Canada's Aboriginal population is vulnerable to food insecurity and increasingly lives off-reserve. The Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.2 Nutrition, was used to compare the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of food insecurity between non-Aboriginal and off-reserve Aboriginal households. Food insecurity status was based on Health Canada's revised interpretation of responses to the US Household Food Security Survey Module. Logistic regression was used to assess if Aboriginal households were at higher risk for food insecurity than non-Aboriginal households, adjusting for household sociodemographic factors. Canada. Households (n 35,107), 1528 Aboriginal and 33 579 non-Aboriginal. Thirty-three per cent of Aboriginal households were food insecure as compared with 9 % of non-Aboriginal households (univariate OR 5.2, 95 % CI 4.2, 6.3). Whereas 14 % of Aboriginal households had severe food insecurity, 3 % of non-Aboriginal households did. The prevalence of sociodemographic risk factors for household food insecurity was higher for Aboriginal households. Aboriginal households were more likely to have three or more children (14 % v. 5 %), be lone-parent households (2 1 % v. 5 %), not have home ownership (52 % v. 31 %), have educational attainment of secondary school or less (43 % v. 26 %), have income from sources other than wages or salaries (38 % v. 29 %), and be in the lowest income adequacy category (33 % v. 12 %). Adjusted for these sociodemographic factors, Aboriginal households retained a higher risk for food insecurity than non-Aboriginal households (OR 2.6, 95 % CI 2.1, 3.2). Off-reserve Aboriginal households in Canada merit special attention for income security and poverty alleviation initiatives.

Food Insecurity and Risk of Poor Health Among US-Born Children of Immigrants

We investigated the risk of household food insecurity and reported fair or poor health among very young children who were US citizens and whose mothers were immigrants compared with those whose mothers had been born in the United States. Data were obtained from 19,275 mothers (7216 of whom were immigrants) who were interviewed in hospital-based settings between 1998 and 2005 as part of the Children's Sentinel Nutrition Assessment Program. We examined whether food insecurity mediated the association between immigrant status and child health in relation to length of stay in the United States. The risk of fair or poor health was higher among children of recent immigrants than among children of US-born mothers (odds ratio [OR] = 1.26; 95% confidence interval [CI] = 1.02, 1.55; P < .03). Immigrant households were at higher risk of food insecurity than were households with US-born mothers. Newly arrived immigrants were at the highest risk of food insecurity (OR = 2.45; 95% CI = 2.16, 2.77; P < .001). Overall, household food insecurity increased the risk of fair or poor child health (OR = 1.74; 95% CI = 1.57, 1.93; P < .001) and mediated the association between immigrant status and poor child health. Children of immigrant mothers are at increased risk of fair or poor health and household food insecurity. Policy interventions addressing food insecurity in immigrant households may promote child health.

Food Security Among Older Adults in the United States

In 2003, 6.0% of elderly households experienced food insecurity because of lack of resources; 1.7% of elderly households experienced the most severe form of food insecurity—hunger. Elderly households that have low income, are minority, are socially isolated, or have physical or mental impairments are at higher risk for food insecurity and hunger. Food insecurity and hunger among elders contribute to malnutrition, which can exacerbate disease, increase disability, decrease resistance to infections, and extend hospitals stays. Utilizing federal nutrition programs, eating with others, and getting regular medical checkups are a few of the ways to reduce food insecurity among elders.

Homelessness and food insecurity

Numerous assistance programs are designed to alleviate homelessness and food insecurity in the US, two of the more severe possible consequences of poverty. While we expect families with a higher probability of homelessness to also be at higher risk of food insecurity, after controlling for observed factors the relationship is not immediately apparent. To analyze this relationship, we use a unique data set with food insecurity information on both housed and homeless families. After instrumenting for the probability of homelessness, we find that families more prone to homelessness have higher levels of food insecurity. When we use dichotomous measures of food insecurity, however, the effects of homelessness are smaller.