Mother and Adolescent Eating in the Context of Food Insecurity: Findings from Urban Public Housing

Abstract

Introduction Anecdotal evidence suggests that parents protect their children from food insecurity and its effects, but few studies have concurrently assessed food insecurity among youth and parents. The purpose of this study was to examine food insecurity and eating behaviors among an urban sample of mother-adolescent dyads. Methods Mother-adolescent dyads (n = 55) were from six public housing sites in Phoenix, Arizona who completed surveys during 2014. Multivariate mixed linear and logistic regression models assessed the relationship between mother and adolescent eating behaviors in the context of food insecurity. Results Food insecurity was prevalent with 65.4% of parents and 43.6% of adolescents reporting food insecurity; 34.5% of parents and 14.5% of adolescents reported very low food security. After adjusting for food insecurity status, parents' and adolescents' fruit, vegetable, and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption was not associated. However, significant associations were observed between mothers' and adolescents' fast food intake (β = 0.52; p < 0.001), family meal intake (β = 0.52; p = 0.001), mindful eating (β = 0.51; p = 0.032), and binge eating (OR 8.05; p = 0.011). Discussion Parents may protect their adolescent children against food insecurity given the lower prevalence of food insecurity observed among adolescents. Interventions addressing food insecurity among mothers and adolescents may want to capitalize on shared eating patterns and address issues related to binge eating and leverage site-based strengths of public housing.

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...…”

“…Apart from the 18-item USDA module, the USDA has provided additional tools that have been used in the literature, for example the 6-item USDA module, 22 7-item USDA module 19 and 16-item USDA module. 54 The USDA also adopted a tool developed by researchers at the University of Southern Mississippi 125 as 'The Child Food Security Survey Module', which assesses FI in children aged ≥ 12 years by means of a 9-item module.…”

“…122 Seven studies measured FI through interviews (in-depth face to face or semistructured) with children or with parents and stakeholders involved with food-insecure children. 6,25,[30][31][32]55,97 Twenty-one studies measured FI directly from children or adolescents, 6,25,52,55,60,62,64,68,70,76,77,79,84,98,106,107,111,112,114,118,122 eight included measurements from both the parent/caregiver and the child/adolescent, 22,30,32,47,50,69,73,101 one included measurements from parent(s)/caregiver(s), the child/adolescent and school staff, 117 72 included only the parents'/caregivers' evaluation of child FI or household FI, 12,[18][19][20][21]23,24,[26][27][28][29]...…”

“…From the included studies, 24 considered factors related to child FI and adjusted their analyses for potentially explanatory or confounding variables. 18,[20][21][22][23][24]26,27,35,37,38,40,42,[48][49][50][51]53,54,61,65,[70][71][72] The characteristics most frequently assessed were children's demographic characteristics (e.g. age, sex or ethnicity), parental factors [e.g.…”