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Despite widespread concern about hunger in America, efforts to monitor and assess the extent of hunger have been hampered by lack of consensus on an appropriate meaning for the term hunger and by the lack of valid indicators to assess it. The first phase of the research used qualitative methods to derive a socially-appropriate definition of hunger. Thirty-two women in Upstate New York were interviewed regarding their experience with food problems and hunger. The interviews were analyzed using the constant comparative method. Results indicated that women had a narrow and a broad concept of hunger. The narrow concept focused on going without food for a specified period of time and the physical sensation of hunger. The broad one included two dimensions: household and individual hunger. Each had quantitative, qualitative, psychological, and social components. The second phase of the research used survey methodology to examine the validity and reliability of items designed to measure the conceptual definition of hunger. The survey was administered to 189 women in Upstate New York who participated in programs designed for low-income households or households in need of food. The second phase confirmed the conceptualization of hunger developed in the first phase. A subset of valid and reliable items that represented each of the major dimensions and components of hunger was identified as being useful for monitoring and assessing hunger.

The phenomenon loosely labeled hunger in the 1980s is now being discussed as food security or insecurity. Food security is defined as access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life, and at a minimum includes the following: 1) the ready availability of nutritionally adequate and safe foods and 2) the assured ability to acquire personally acceptable foods in a socially acceptable way. Food insecurity exists whenever food security is limited or uncertain. The measurement of food insecurity at the household or individual level involves the measurement of those quantitative, qualitative, psychological and social or normative constructs that are central to the experience of food insecurity, qualified by their involuntariness and periodicity. Risk factors for food insecurity include any factors that affect household resources and the proportion of those resources available for food acquisition. Potential consequences of food insecurity include hunger, malnutrition and (either directly or indirectly) negative effects on health and quality of life. The precise relationships between food insecurity and its risk factors and potential consequences need much more research now that there is an emerging consensus on the definition and measurement of food insecurity. Indicators of food security or insecurity are proposed as a necessary component of the core measures of the nutritional state of individuals, communities or nations.

OBJECTIVES. Childhood overweight is an increasing public health concern. This study was undertaken to determine the prevalence of overweight in elementary school children in New York State and to identify characteristics associated with child fatness. METHODS. Weight, height, triceps skinfold, midarm circumference, and a 24-hour dietary recall were taken on 1797 second- and fifth-grade students from 51 randomly selected schools in New York State outside of New York City. Parents completed a brief questionnaire. RESULTS. In comparison with 1974 and 1980 national reference data, up to twice the expected percentages of children had values above the 85th, 90th, and 95th percentiles for body mass index, triceps skinfold, and arm fat area. Regression analyses suggested that children who tended to be fatter were members of low socioeconomic status, two-parent (but not single-parent) households; those with few or no siblings; those who ate school lunch; and those who skipped breakfast. CONCLUSIONS. The findings suggest that overweight is a problem among many elementary school children in New York State and that sociodemographic characteristics may be useful for targeting preventive efforts.

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