Food insufficiency, family income, and health in US preschool and school-aged children

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: This study investigated associations between family income, food insufficiency, and health among US preschool and school-aged children. METHODS: Data from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey were analyzed. Children were classified as food insufficient if the family respondent reported that the family sometimes or often did not get enough food to eat. Regression analyses were conducted with health measures as the outcome variables. Prevalence rates of health variables were compared by family income category, with control for age and gender. Odds ratios for food insufficiency were calculated with control for family income and other potential confounding factors. RESULTS: Low-income children had a higher prevalence of poor/fair health status and iron deficiency than high-income children. After confounding factors, including poverty status, had been controlled, food-insufficient children were significantly more likely to have poorer health status and to experience more frequent stomachaches and headaches than food-sufficient children; preschool food-insufficient children had more frequent colds. CONCLUSIONS: Food insufficiency and low family income are health concerns for US preschool and school-aged children.

The Social Determinants of Food Purchasing Practices: Who Chooses Price-before-Health, Taste-before-Price or Organic Foods in Australia?

“…Food insecurity is associated with obesity [17,18] and obesity related disease [19,20]. These elevated rates of obesity among the food insecure is thought to result principally from increased consumption of foods high in fat and or sugar that are typically cheaper, more available, heavily marketed and simpler to prepare than healthy alternatives [6,7].…”

“…These elevated rates of obesity among the food insecure is thought to result principally from increased consumption of foods high in fat and or sugar that are typically cheaper, more available, heavily marketed and simpler to prepare than healthy alternatives [6,7]. Furthermore, the health consequences of food insecurity go beyond obesity and include nutrient inadequacy [21], self reported health [20] and compromised child health [17]. Data collected in South Australia estimates the food insecurity rate to be approximately 7% [22].…”

U.S. Food Insecurity Status: Toward a Refined Definition

“…Food insecurity is related to poor health among children (Alaimo et al 2001) and poorer school outcomes (Dunifon and Kowaleski Jones 2003). Adults also experience poorer health including increased morbidity and mortality (Siefert et al 2004;Stuff et al 2004;Vozoris and Tarasuk 2003).…”

Food insufficiency, housing and health-related quality of life: results from the Positive Spaces, Healthy Places study

“…Single-item measures of food insufficiency have been demonstrated to have high face validity and external validity to food expenditures and nutritional intake (Alaimo, Briefel, Frongillo, & Olson, 1998;, 2002Alaimo, Olson, Frongillo, & Briefel, 2001;Baggett et al, 2011;Basiotis, 1992;Briefel & Woteki, 1992;Cristofar & Basiotis, 1992;Franke et al, 2011;German et al, 2011;Okechukwu, El Ayadi, Tamers, Sabbath, & Berkman, 2012;Siefert, Heflin, Corcoran, & Williams, 2004;Sirotin et al, 2012;Vogenthaler et al, 2011). We assessed food insufficiency by asking the following question: "In the last 12 months, have you ever experienced difficulty buying enough food?".…”