Household food insecurity: Associations with disordered eating behaviours and overweight in a population-based sample of adolescents

OBJECTIVE: To examine how household food insecurity is related to adolescent weight status and disordered eating.

DESIGN: Cross-sectional, population-based study. Adolescents self-reported unhealthy weight control behaviours, binge eating and meal frequency; weight status was measured. Household food insecurity was assessed by asking parents to respond to the validated six-item US Household Food Security Survey Module.

SETTING: Adolescents surveyed within Minneapolis/St. Paul public middle and high schools completed surveys at school, and their parents/guardians were surveyed by mail during the 2009-2010 academic year.

PARTICIPANTS: Ethnically/racially diverse, primarily low-income adolescents (mean age: 14·4 years, range: 10-22 years) and their parents/guardians (n 2285 dyads).

RESULTS: More than one-third (38·9 %) of the adolescents experienced past-year household food insecurity, 43·2 % reported disordered eating and 39·6 % were overweight. Generalised regression models showed that food insecure (FI) compared with food secure (FS) adolescents had higher prevalence of overweight (FI: 42·3 % v. FS: 37·9 %, P = 0·039), lower breakfast consumption (FI: 4·1 times/week v. FS: 4·4 times/week, P = 0·005) and greater use of unhealthy weight control behaviours (FI: 49·0 % v. FS: 39·5 %, P < 0·001) in unadjusted models. Models adjusted for parental education, ethnicity/race, sex and age found that food insecurity was associated with higher prevalence of unhealthy weight control behaviours (FI: 44·5 % v. FS: 37·8 %, P = 0·007), but not with weight status or other eating behaviours.

CONCLUSIONS: These results suggest that food insecurity may be an independent risk factor for unhealthy weight control behaviours, indicating a need to approach these intersecting issues in a comprehensive manner.