food insecurity in US children

 

the CDC just published a report on food insecurity in children aged 0-17 in the US, covering the period 2019-2020, finding about 15 million American kids fit in this category!!! (see https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/data/databriefs/db432.pdf )

 

Details:

--food insecurity is defined as limited or uncertain availability of safe and nutritionally adequate foods, or the limited or uncertain ability to acquire acceptable foods in socially acceptable ways; it is determined by the answer to 10 questions, mostly about both accessible food quantity and quality

-- the data are based on the prior 30 days using the 2019-2020 National Interview Survey data, with stratified information based on age, sex, race/ethnicity and other demographics

 

Results:

-- overall the percentage of children aged 0-17 who lived in households that experienced food insecurity was 10.8%, and did not vary by sex of the children or age (categorized as 0-5yo, 6-11yo and 12-17yo)

-- there were, however, significant differences by race/ethnicity and disability status; all of these percentages were statistically significantly different when compared to non-Hispanic White children, with p<0.05:

 

 

-- and, there were significant differences by urbanicity; all of these percentages were statistically significantly different when compared to large fringe metro, with p<0.05, though no statistically significant difference in children living in medium and small metropolitan vs nonmetropolitan areas:

 

 

-- and, there were differences by family structure and number of children in the household; all of these percentages were statistically significantly different, with p<0.05:

 

 

Commentary:

-- pretty striking data:

    -- overall the percentages and numbers of kids with food insecurity is quite staggering in the US, the wealthiest nation in the world, and having mindboggling increases in wealth inequities over time

    -- and, as above and not surprisingly, these statistics are dramatically worse by race/ethnicity, disability, single-parent household, or households with more children

-- and, food security is clearly a key component to the social determinants of health, those social issues which affect health in so many of the measured ways, including many medical and psychosocial outcomes, as well as all-cause mortality

-- in children, food insecurity is associated with worse overall health, including more acute and chronic conditions. though i suspect that this is multifold: those with food insecurity also are more likely to live in crowded housing (as in the study above with more food insecurity associated with more kids at home), and have less access to overall healthier environments)

-- recent numbers suggest that there are about 42 million people (1 in 8) who may have experienced food insecurity in 2021 (see https://www.feedingamerica.org/sites/default/files/2021-03/National%20Projections%20Brief_3.9.2021_0.pdf).

    -- the highest single group of food insecure people are those aged 75-84 

-- food insecurity in the US is clearly tied into discrimination based on race, disability, areas of residence, etc. And this discrimination is also what leads to generational income inequality (inability to pass money on within families, leading to a perpetuation of the poverty cycle), more expensive costs of living (higher mortgage rates, interest rates on loans, etc), less access to healthy living (food deserts, decreased access to safe areas to walk/exercise), older and inadequate infrastructure/environment (lead water pipes, higher air particulates/pollution), less healthy jobs (more manual labor/problems longterm with subsequent disabilities from musculoskeletal problems, more occupational chemical exposures), less adequate educational systems, etc, etc

-- and, all of this made worse in the US by inadequate medical and public health systems, decreasing access to necessary medical care to many, and the lack of inclusive public health policies to decrease both pathogens and adverse exposures (work, smoking, alcohol, etc)

 

so, another dataset reinforcing the prevalence of striking social inequities here, associated their well-described medical, social, and psychological effects. and the numbers of kids involved is staggering: 15 million of the total of 73 million under the age of 18.  This is society-wide issue, affecting all age groups, with the attendant profound social consequences.

geoff

 

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