Pathways from Food Insecurity to Health Outcomes among California University Students

Abstract

The prevalence of food insecurity (FI) among college students is alarmingly high, yet the impact on student health has not been well investigated. The aim of the current study was to examine the simultaneous relationships between food insecurity and health-related outcomes including body mass index (BMI) and overall health in a college student population. Randomly sampled students in the University of California 10 campus system were invited to participate in an online survey in spring 2015. The analytic sample size was 8705 graduate and undergraduate students. Data were collected on FI in the past year, daily servings of fruits and vegetables (FV), number of days in the past week of enough sleep and moderate- to vigorous-intensity physical activity (MVPA), height and weight, self-rated health, and student characteristics. Using path analysis, mediated pathways between FI, BMI, and poor health were examined through FV intake, number of days of MVPA and enough sleep. Analyses controlled for student characteristics. Mean BMI was 23.6 kg/m2 (SD, 5.0), and average self-rated health was good. FI was directly and indirectly related to higher BMI and poor health through three pathways. First, FI was related to fewer days of enough sleep, which in turn was related to increased BMI and poor health. Second, FI was related to fewer days of MVPA, which in turn was related to increased BMI and poor health. Third, FI was related to fewer daily servings of FV, which in turn was related to poor health. FI is associated with poor health behaviors among college students, which may contribute to higher weight status and poor health. These findings highlight the importance of food security for a healthy college experience.

Food Insecurity, Depression, and Race: Correlations Observed Among College Students at a University in the Southeastern United States

“…Lastly, the relatively small sample size of this study may not have been adequate to capture all potential differences between food-secure and food-insecure students. For example, food insecurity was not associated with BMI or body fat percentage in this study, though many previous studies have found food insecurity to be associated with obesity [24,37,[40][41][42].…”

“…In a study of university students from New Jersey, food insecurity increased the odds of a student being in the lower 10% for GPA and decreased the odds of a student being in the upper 10% for GPA [23]. In college students from California, food insecurity has been associated with poor health behaviors such as limited physical activity, consuming fewer servings of fruits and vegetables, and not getting enough sleep [24]. In another study that looked at college students from Florida, Maine, Tennessee, Alabama, South Dakota, Kansas, New York, and West Virginia, food-insecure students had poorer sleep, higher stress, and a higher odds of disordered eating behaviors compared to food-secure students [25].…”

Exploring food insecurity and obesity in Dutch disadvantaged neighborhoods: a cross-sectional mediation analysis

“…through symptoms of fatigue due to reduced dietary quality and potential deficiencies or limited financial possibilities to engage in sports). In turn, a decrease in physical activity could increase obesity prevalence through an altered energy expenditure [30]. Further, living situation and stressors (which might trigger unhealthy coping mechanisms like smoking) were previously indicated as potential mediators in this relationship [13,31].…”

“…To evaluate the magnitude of disparity in obesity due to food insecurity that would remain if an intermediate or downstream determinant is changed, we selected various potential mediating variables on the basis of the literature [13,30,31]. The association between food insecurity and weight was previously found to be mediated by lifestyle health behaviors like diet quality and physical activity [30]. To illustrate, food insecurity might influence weight through changing physical activity and therefore physical activity is considered a potential mediator.…”

Rapid Dissemination of College Food Insecurity Findings in A Multi-Institutional Study Using the eB4CAST Approach

“…The impact food insecurity has on college students is also a concern. Studies have shown that college food insecurity is associated with inadequate diet quality [8][9][10][11] along with poor health outcomes, including self-rated health [8,[12][13][14][15][16][17][18], mental health, and weight status. Furthermore, food insecurity impacts academic performance, which is counterintuitive to the obtainment of a college degree [8,12,15,16,[18][19][20][21].…”