The association of food insecurity and obesity in children

Introduction: Studies showed that food insecurity may increase the odds of obesity in children and adults.The purpose of this study is to provide a review of studies that have examined the association between food insecurity and obesity in children. Method: We searched Pubmed and Scopus for the articles published since 2015 using food insecurity and obesity as key words. We found 42 articles and finally studied 9 related articles. 8 studies was conducted based on survey studies and one of them was a prospective cohort study which evaluated longitudinal associations between food security and body mass index (BMI) z-score. Result: Greater levels of child food insecurity were associated with higher consumption of energy, fat, sugar, and fiber and a diet lower in vegetables. Adjusted means analysis showed first-grade food insecurity was significantly correlated with increased BMI z-score in first through third grades. Obesity was significantly associated with personal food insecurity for children aged 6 to 11 years (P=0.03). The odds of a child being obese were five times higher for children from food-insecure households compared with children from food-secure households. Twenty-seven percent of children from food insecure households and 25 % of child food insecure children were overweight or obese (BMI ≥ 85 %). We found high rates of excess body weight among adults and children (82·8 % and 37·9 % among food insecure without hunger, 89·2 % and 45·9 % among food insecure with hunger). Compared with food secure counterparts, youth from food insecure households had higher mean BMI. Logistic regression analyses indicated a significant association (P<0.05) between food insecurity and obesity/overweight. All of the studies to date have shown that food insecurity and overweight are co‐exist. Conclusion: These review provide further support for an association between food insecurity and childhood obesity. In many food-insecure families, providing healthy foods may serve as additional barriers to their purchase and consumption.

Keywords:

obesity , children , food insecurity