The Impact of Food Insecurity on Growth,
Obesity and Chronic Disease
Leah M.K. Anderson, MD

• Short-term health
• Chronic disease
• Mental health
• Obesity

• Associated with
• diabetes
• heart disease
• Children experiencing hunger are more likely to experience
• lower physical functioning
(Casey, 2005)
• more frequent stomachaches and headaches
(Alaimo,
2001)

• Increased depression
• Increase anxiety
( Weinreb 2002)
• Increased suicidal tendencies
(Alaimo, 2002)

• Study of 6,500 children
– food insecurity was positively associated with overweight and obesity in those 12 to 19 years of age.
( Townsend & Melgar-Quinonez, 2003)
• National sample of almost 7,000 children
– childhood food insecurity was associated with overweight.
(Casey
2005)
• A three-city study (Boston, San Antonio, and Chicago) of
1,011 adolescents
– maternal stress in combination with adolescent food insecurity significantly increased adolescent’s probability of being overweight or obese.
(Lohman, 2009)

• National sample of 8,693 infants and toddlers
– indirect association between food insecurity and overweight that operated through parenting practices and infant feeding practices.
(Bronte-Tinkew, 2007)
• Among 2- 5-year-old girls – but not boys – in
Massachusetts participating in WIC
– food insecure homes had 47 percent higher odds of being obese compared to those from food secure homes.
(Metallinos-
Katsaras, 2009)

• How does this occur?
– Limited resources
– Lack of access to healthy, affordable foods
– Fewer opportunities for physical activity
– Cycles of food deprivation and overeating
• Chronic deprivation leads to neuro-chemical changes that increase reward effect of food even when food later becomes plentiful
• Increased drive for energy-dense foods
– High levels of stress
• Stress hormones can further drive power of food reward
– Greater exposure to marketing of obesity-promoting products
– Limited access to health care

• Food insecurity has real effects on well-being of children and adults
• Children who are food insecure are more likely to experience chronic mental and physical health problems
• Food insecurity is bimodal – representing both underconsumption as well as mal-consumption
• Chronic stress of real (or perceived) food deprivation can alter power and nature of food-desire

1.
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2.
Casey, P. H., Szeto, K. L., Robbins, J. M., Stuff, J. E., Connell, C. , Gossett, J. M., & Simpson, P. M. (2005). Child healthrelated quality of life and household food security. Archives of Pediatrics and Adolescent Medicine, 159(1), 51-
56.
3.
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4.
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1999
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5.
Seligman, H. K., Laraia, B. A., & Kushel, M. B. (2010). Food insecurity is associated with chronic disease among lowincome NHANES participants. Journal of Nutrition, 140(2), 304-310.
6.
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8.
Alaimo, K., Olson, C. M., & Frongillo, E. A. (2002). Family food insufficiency, but not low family income, is positively associated with dysthymia and suicide symptoms in adolescents. Journal of Nutrition, 132, 719−725.
9.
Townsend, M. & Melgar-Quinonez, H. (2003). Hunger, food insecurity, and child obesity. Food Assistance and Nutrition Research
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10. Lohman, B. J., Stewart, S., Gundersen, C., Garasky, S., & Eisenmann, J. C. (2009). Adolescent overweight and obesity: links to food insecurity and individual, maternal, and family stressors. Journal of Adolescent Health, 45(3), 230-237.
11.
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12.
Metallinos-Katsaras, E., Sherry, B., & Kallio, J. (2009). Food insecurity is associated with overweight in children younger than 5 years of age. Journal of the American Dietetic Association, 109(10), 1790-1794