IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v18y2021i17p9155-d625714.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Food Insecurity and Eating Pathology in Adolescents

Author

Listed:
  • Brittany H. Kim

    (New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA)

  • Lisa Ranzenhofer

    (New York State Psychiatric Institute, New York, NY 10032, USA
    Department of Psychiatry, Columbia University Irving Medical Center, New York, NY 10032, USA)

  • Jill Stadterman

    (Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458, USA)

  • Yvette G. Karvay

    (Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458, USA)

  • Natasha L. Burke

    (Department of Psychology, Fordham University, Bronx, NY 10458, USA)

Abstract

Adolescence is a critical period for the emergence of eating disorders, and food insecurity may be related to eating pathology and weight, as evidenced in adults. However, little is known about food insecurity and eating pathology during this developmental period, and associations between food insecurity and body mass index (BMI) are mixed. Therefore, we examined associations between food insecurity and BMI percentile, self-reported eating-related pathology and binge eating, and subgroup differences by race/ethnicity. In a subset, we examined the relationship between food insecurity and real-world hunger, food craving, and loss-of-control eating using ecological momentary assessment (EMA). Fifty-eight adolescents at two sites (clinical sample, n = 38, BMI percentile ≥ 70th; community sample, n = 20, all BMI strata) completed self-report questionnaires. Adolescents were 15.2 ± 2.1 years old, 62% female, 50% Black, 34.5% Hispanic, with BMI percentile = 80.5 ± 25.8 (range 4–99). In the full sample, food insecurity was associated with greater BMI ( p < 0.01), higher shape/weight overvaluation ( p = 0.04), and greater number of binge eating episodes among those reporting at least one binge episode ( p < 0.01), with significant relationships for BMI percentile, shape/weight overvaluation, body dissatisfaction, and binge episode frequency among Hispanic adolescents only (each p < 0.01). As in adults, food insecurity may be a risk factor for eating pathology, particularly for Hispanic teens.

Suggested Citation

  • Brittany H. Kim & Lisa Ranzenhofer & Jill Stadterman & Yvette G. Karvay & Natasha L. Burke, 2021. "Food Insecurity and Eating Pathology in Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-13, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:17:p:9155-:d:625714
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/17/9155/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/17/9155/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Bhattacharya, Jayanta & Currie, Janet & Haider, Steven, 2004. "Poverty, food insecurity, and nutritional outcomes in children and adults," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 23(4), pages 839-862, July.
    2. Coleman-Jensen, Alisha & Rabbitt, Matthew P. & Gregory, Christian A. & Singh, Anita, 2017. "Household Food Security in the United States in 2016," Economic Research Report 291968, United States Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Citations

    Citations are extracted by the CitEc Project, subscribe to its RSS feed for this item.
    as


    Cited by:

    1. Prince Yeboah & Dennis Bomansang Daliri & Ahmad Yaman Abdin & Emmanuel Appiah-Brempong & Werner Pitsch & Anto Berko Panyin & Emmanuel Bentil Asare Adusei & Afraa Razouk & Muhammad Jawad Nasim & Claus , 2021. "Knowledge into the Practice against COVID-19: A Cross-Sectional Study from Ghana," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(24), pages 1-13, December.

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Nicholas Moellman, 2020. "Healthcare and Hunger: Effects of the ACA Medicaid Expansions on Food Insecurity in America," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 168-186, June.
    2. Nithya Shankar-Krishnan & Albert Fornieles Deu & David Sánchez-Carracedo, 2021. "Associations Between Food Insecurity And Psychological Wellbeing, Body Image, Disordered Eating And Dietary Habits: Evidence From Spanish Adolescents," Child Indicators Research, Springer;The International Society of Child Indicators (ISCI), vol. 14(1), pages 163-183, February.
    3. Amber Bastian & Courtney Parks & Fiona H. McKay & Paige van der Pligt & Amy Yaroch & Sarah A. McNaughton & Rebecca Lindberg, 2022. "Development of a Comprehensive Household Food Security Tool for Families with Young Children and/or Pregnant Women in High Income Countries," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(17), pages 1-17, August.
    4. Ranney, Christine K. & Gomez, Miguel I., 2010. "Food Stamps, Food Insufficiency and Health of the Elderly," Working Papers 126968, Cornell University, Department of Applied Economics and Management.
    5. Sunjin Ahn & Travis A. Smith & F. Bailey Norwood, 2020. "Can Internet Surveys Mimic Food Insecurity Rates Published by the US Government?," Applied Economic Perspectives and Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 42(2), pages 187-204, June.
    6. Craig Gundersen, 2019. "The Right to Food in the United States: The Role of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP)," American Journal of Agricultural Economics, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 101(5), pages 1328-1336, October.
    7. Higgins, Christopher D. & Páez, Antonio & Kim, Gyoorie & Wang, Jue, 2021. "Changes in accessibility to emergency and community food services during COVID-19 and implications for low income populations in Hamilton, Ontario," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 291(C).
    8. Amaza, P., 2018. "Impact on household food security of promoting sustainable agriculture among farming households in Borno State, Nigeria," 2018 Conference, July 28-August 2, 2018, Vancouver, British Columbia 277204, International Association of Agricultural Economists.
    9. Craig Gundersen & Brent Kreider, 2008. "Food Stamps and Food Insecurity: What Can Be Learned in the Presence of Nonclassical Measurement Error?," Journal of Human Resources, University of Wisconsin Press, vol. 43(2), pages 352-382.
    10. Mark Christopher Navin & J. M. Dieterle, 2018. "Cooptation or solidarity: food sovereignty in the developed world," Agriculture and Human Values, Springer;The Agriculture, Food, & Human Values Society (AFHVS), vol. 35(2), pages 319-329, June.
    11. Bühler, Dorothee & Hartje, Rebecca & Ulrike Grote, 2017. "Can household food security predict individual undernutrition? Evidence from Cambodia and Lao PDR," Hannover Economic Papers (HEP) dp-594, Leibniz Universität Hannover, Wirtschaftswissenschaftliche Fakultät.
    12. Seo-Hee Park & Byung-Jin Park & Dong-Hyuk Jung & Yu-Jin Kwon, 2019. "Association between Household Food Insecurity and Asthma in Korean Adults," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 16(12), pages 1-11, June.
    13. Stifel, David C. & Averett, Susan L., 2009. "Childhood overweight in the United States: A quantile regression approach," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 7(3), pages 387-397, December.
    14. Colleen Heflin & Michah W. Rothbart & Mattie Mackenzie-Liu, 2022. "Below the Tip of the Iceberg: Examining Early Childhood Participation in SNAP and TANF from Birth to Age Six," Population Research and Policy Review, Springer;Southern Demographic Association (SDA), vol. 41(2), pages 729-755, April.
    15. Aksoy, Billur & Palma, Marco A., 2019. "The effects of scarcity on cheating and in-group favoritism," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 165(C), pages 100-117.
    16. Moffitt, Robert A. & Ribar, David C., 2018. "Child age and gender differences in food security in a low-income U.S. inner-city population," European Economic Review, Elsevier, vol. 109(C), pages 23-41.
    17. Timothy K. M. Beatty, 2008. "Expenditure dispersion and dietary quality: evidence from Canada," Health Economics, John Wiley & Sons, Ltd., vol. 17(9), pages 1001-1014, September.
    18. Dharmasena, Senarath & Bessler, David A. & Capps, Oral, 2016. "Food environment in the United States as a complex economic system," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 61(C), pages 163-175.
    19. Michael H. Morris, 2020. "The Liability of Poorness: Why the Playing Field is Not Level for Poverty Entrepreneurs," Poverty & Public Policy, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 12(3), pages 304-315, September.
    20. Craig Gundersen & David Ribar, 2011. "Food Insecurity And Insufficiency At Low Levels Of Food Expenditures," Review of Income and Wealth, International Association for Research in Income and Wealth, vol. 57(4), pages 704-726, December.

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:18:y:2021:i:17:p:9155-:d:625714. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.