The rise of hunger among low-income households: an analysis of the risks of food insecurity between 2004 and 2016 in a population-based study of UK adults

Abstract

BackgroundRising food bank use in the past decade in the UK raises questions about whether food insecurity has increased. Using the 2016 Food and You survey, we describe the magnitude and severity of the problem, examine characteristics associated with severity of food insecurity, and examine how vulnerability has changed among low-income households by comparing 2016 data to the 2004 Low Income Diet and Nutrition Survey.MethodsThe Food and You survey is a representative survey of adults living in England, Wales, and Northern Ireland (n=3118). Generalised ordered logistic regression models were used to examine how socioeconomic characteristics related to severity of food insecurity. Coarsened exact matching was used to match respondents to respondents in the 2004 survey. Logistic regression models were used to examine if food insecurity rose between survey years.Results20.7% (95% CI 18.7% to 22.8%) of adults experienced food insecurity in 2016, and 2.72% (95% CI 2.07% to 3.58%) were severely food insecure. Younger age, non-white ethnicity, low education, disability, unemployment, and low income were all associated with food insecurity, but only the latter three characteristics were associated with severe food insecurity. Controlling for socioeconomic variables, the probability of low-income adults being food insecure rose from 27.7% (95% CI 24.8% to 30.6 %) in 2004 to 45.8% (95% CI 41.6% to 49.9%) in 2016. The rise was most pronounced for people with disabilities.ConclusionsFood insecurity affects economically deprived groups in the UK, but unemployment, disability and low income are characteristics specifically associated with severe food insecurity. Vulnerability to food insecurity has worsened among low-income adults since 2004, particularly among those with disabilities.

Health professionals’ experiences and perspectives on food insecurity and long‐term conditions: A qualitative investigation

“…These problems seem set to increase as more people in the UK are developing and living with often multiple health conditions, food costs are predicted to continue to rise and key groups become yet more financially vulnerable (Jones, Conklin, Suhrcke, & Monsivais, ; Josepeh Rowntree Foundation, ). The need for awareness and vigilance among those working in the healthcare system to support people with their condition self‐management has never been more acute (Loopstra, ; Loopstra et al, ).…”

“…Food insecurity arises when a person or household has inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial or other constraints (Seligman, Davis, Schillinger, & Wolf, ). It is increasingly recognised as a problem in low‐income households in high‐income countries (Lambie‐Mumford, ; Loopstra, Reeves, & Tarasuk, ; Reeves, Loopstra, & Stuckler, ). Food insecurity exists on a continuum from ‘milder’ manifestations such as uncertainty and anxiety about food access, through insufficient access to appropriate types and amounts of food, to more severe experiences involving hunger (Kendall, Olson, & Frongillo, ).…”

“…Just over 10% of the UK population live in food insecure households and projections point towards a worsening picture (Josepeh Rowntree Foundation, ). The probability of low‐income UK households being food insecure rose from 28% in 2004 to 46% in 2016, with disabled people living in such circumstances shown to be particularly badly affected (Loopstra et al, ). Over 42% of patients registered with a GP in Scotland live with one or more long‐term condition (Barnett et al, ).…”

“…Moreover, people affected by health conditions are amongst the highest users of food banks in the UK (Garthwaite, Collins, & Bambra, ; Loopstra & Lalor, ), and the intersection of low‐income and debt with ill‐health or disability increases both the challenges of access to food and the risk of destitution (Fitzpatrick, Bramley, Sosenko, & Blenkinsopp, ). Health professionals have become informal referral agents to food banks (Douglas et al, ), but food banks cannot provide either the quantity or quality of food suitable for good health condition‐management (Loopstra et al, ; Thompson, Smith, & Cummins, ). Seligman and Berkowitz () suggest that not only does constrained food access impact people's ability to cope with their condition, but the associated uncertainty and anxiety leads to (mal)adaptive coping strategies and sub‐optimal health condition‐management.…”

More than Just Food: Food Insecurity and Resilient Place Making through Community Self-Organising

“…This is the measure of poverty used by the House of Commons in their Poverty in the UK report [20]. Recent research by Loopstra, Reeves and Tarasuk [21] demonstrates that in the UK the probability that low-income adults will be food insecure rose from 28% in 2004 to approximately 45% by 2016, which indicates that shifts in government policy toward a more entrenched neoliberalism have had real implications for the food insecurity of low-income households. Importantly, their research also finds that those low-income households where there are children had a probability of being food insecure of nearly 70%.…”