Food Insecurity Is Associated with Increased Risk of Obesity in US College Students

Abstract

Background Food insecurity affects millions of Americans and college students are especially vulnerable. Little is known about the relationship of food insecurity with weight status and dietary intake during this critical phase of emerging adulthood. Objectives To examine the sex-specific associations of food insecurity with obesity and dietary intake. The study also explored these associations by meal plan (MP) enrollment. Methods This cross-sectional study included 683 second-year students at eight universities in the United States. Food security status and dietary intake were assessed using the USDA Adult Food Security Survey and the Dietary Screener Questionnaire respectively. On-site anthropometrics were measured by researchers. Results The prevalence of food insecurity at the universities ranged from 19.0% to 34.1% with an average of 25.4% for the entire sample. Compared with high food security, marginal food security and food insecurity were each associated with 3.16 (95% CI: 1.55, 6.46) and 5.13 (95% CI: 2.63, 10.00) increased odds of obesity, exhibiting a dose-response relationship. Food insecurity remained a significant predictor of obesity among both sexes after adjusting for socio-demographic variables. Food insecure (FI) students had a significantly lower intake of fruits and vegetables and higher intake of added sugars compared to food secure (FS) students. Obesity rate and added sugars consumption were highest among FI students with MPs compared to FI students lacking MPs and FS students regardless of MP status. Among students with MPs, FS students had a higher intake of fruits and vegetables than FI students. Conclusions Food insecurity was associated with obesity and poor dietary intake among both sexes. While MP subsidies may be a reasoned approach to combat food insecurity, it should be coupled with efforts to assist students in making healthy food choices. Registered on ClinicalTrials.gov, NCT02941497.

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Food Insecurity and Cardiometabolic Conditions: a Review of Recent Research

“…Food insecurity among college students has become an active topic of investigation. A study analyzing obesity in 683 second year students from eight US universities found food-insecure students had a significantly higher BMI than food-secure students (26.0 kg/m [ 2 ] ± 0.4 compared with 24.2 kg/m [ 2 ] ± 0.1, P = 0.001) [ 16 ]. Food insecurity was significantly associated with obesity in both men (OR 3.84; 95% Cl: 1.47, 10.02) and women (OR 2.88, 95% Cl: 1.46, 5.71) after adjusting for demographic characteristics.…”