Household Income, Food Insecurity and Nutrition in Canadian Youth

Abstract

here are important health disparities by income in Canada and the US. 1,2 Disadvantaged children are at greater risk of infant mortality, incidence of death from infectious diseases and accidental deaths. 3 Older youth in disadvantaged settings may be more exposed to smoking, poor diet and sedentary behaviour, contributing to an increased risk of chronic disease in adulthood. 4,5 Moreover, the contribution of these exposures to increased morbidity and mortality appears to be additive, 6 and clustering of risk behaviours is observed among Canadian youth from low-income households. 7 The contribution of diet to an increased risk of chronic disease in youth is not well understood. 8 Among youth from low-income households, food insecurity may be associated with an additional level of deprivation. 9 Food insecurity is an inability to access, at all times, enough food for an active, healthy life. 10 A recent report from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS, Cycle 2.2) found that teenage girls living in food-insecure households consumed fewer milk products, fruits and vegetables compared to food-secure girls. 9 Because food insecurity is observed in middle-income households, 9,11 the combined effect of low income and food insecurity should be assessed to determine if their association with dietary indicators and anthropometric measurements is additive.We examined the influence of income and the conjoint influence of low income and food insecurity on several dietary indicators in a representative sample of Canadian youth aged 9-18 years. We chose to examine milk, calcium and vitamin D intakes as they are implicated in bone health in youth, and there is considerable vitamin D deficiency among Canadian youth. [12][13][14] We studied sweetened beverage consumption because of its association with obesity, 15 and fruit and vegetable consumption, which is associated with numerous health benefits. 16 We also examined longer-term nutritional indicators such as height and overweight status. METHODSThe CCHS Cycle 2.2 targeted persons of all ages living in private dwellings in Canada's ten provinces. Residents of the three territories, persons living on First Nations reserves or Crown lands, persons living in institutions, and residents of some remote regions were excluded. Our study population included 8,938 youth aged 9-18 years. We excluded pregnant and breastfeeding girls.Data were collected in person in all months of 2004, using a computerassisted interviewing method. Interviewers received 3 days of training.

Household Food Insecurity Is a Stronger Marker of Adequacy of Nutrient Intakes among Canadian Compared to American Youth and Adults

“…Earlier studies also suggest that food insecurity is a marker of nutrition inequity in Canada (10,18). Studies conducted in the United States have similarly suggested compromises in diet associated with food insecurity (7,9,15,16), although our study revealed less difference by food security status in the United States than has been reported previously.…”

“…Analyses of data from Canadian Community Health Survey cycle 2.2 were supported by funds from a Programmatic Grant in Health and Health Equity, Canadian Institutes of Health Research (FRN 115208), held by VT. ability to access adequate food (2,3), is a marker of nutritional vulnerability. Studies in Canada, the United States, and New Zealand have shown compromised food and nutrient intakes among those struggling with food insecurity (4)(5)(6)(7)(8)(9)(10)(11)(12)(13)(14)(15)(16)(17)(18)(19). Furthermore, food insecurity is associated with risk and management of diet-sensitive chronic diseases, including cardiovascular disease and diabetes, in both Canada and the United States (20)(21)(22)(23)(24)(25)(26)(27)(28)(29).…”

Family Food Insecurity and Nutritional Risk in Adolescents From a Low-Income Area of Rio De Janeiro, Brazil

“…Unfortunately, food insecurity and socio-biological stress, as observed in the studied area, can slow down healthy growth, which can affect future health; for example, low stature in adult women resulting from malnutrition during childhood and adolescence is related to increased gestational risks (Ramakrishnan, 2004). Mark et al (2012) observed similar results in a nationally representative study in Canada where low-income adolescents presented lower intakes of calcium and vitamin D and lower height percentiles than those from higher-income households, even though there were no differences in the height percentiles according to the level of food insecurity. However, some studies have observed a higher prevalence of overweight in adolescents from families living in food insecurity compared with those that did not report food insecurity (Alaimo et al, 2001;Casey et al, 2001Casey et al, , 2006.…”

Child food insecurity in the UK: a rapid review

“…Most of the studies identified were from North America (91 from the USA and 10 from Canada), 21,23,27,42,43,45,46,68,75,76 five were from the UK, 19,[30][31][32]59 one was from Ireland, 106 one was from Australia 54 and one was from New Zealand. 122 Of the 109 studies included in the review, 100 were quantitative studies, 9,12,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][26][27][28][29]33,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][56]…”

“…122 Of the 109 studies included in the review, 100 were quantitative studies, 9,12,[18][19][20][21][22][23][24][26][27][28][29]33,[35][36][37][38][39][40][41][42][43][44][45][46][47][48][49][50][51][52][53][54][56][57][58]60,61,[63][64][65][66][67][68][69][70][71][72][73][74][75][76][7...…”