We are upgrading the repository! A content freeze is in effect until December 6, 2024. New submissions or changes to existing items will not be allowed during this period. All content already published will remain publicly available for searching and downloading. Updates will be posted in the Website Upgrade 2024 FAQ in the sidebar Help menu. Reach out to escholarship@umassmed.edu with any questions.
Food Insecurity and Obesity: Exploring the Role of Social Support
UMass Chan Affiliations
Department of Quantitative Health SciencesDepartment of Medicine, Division of Preventive and Behavioral Medicine
Document Type
Journal ArticlePublication Date
2017-11-28Keywords
BMINHANES
food insecurity
obesity
social support
Dietetics and Clinical Nutrition
Food Security
Nutrition
Women's Health
Metadata
Show full item recordAbstract
BACKGROUND: Women are disproportionately affected by both obesity and food insecurity. Food insecurity occurs when there is limited ability to acquire adequate foods. It is unknown whether social support can reduce the effect of food insecurity on increased obesity. This study seeks to determine whether social support modifies the relationship between food insecurity and obesity. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional study in a nationally representative sample of 4672 women aged > /=40 years using National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (2003-2008). Individual food insecurity was assessed based on the U.S. Department of Agriculture 18-item validated household food security scale. Women were categorized as fully food secure (0 affirmative responses) or food insecure (1-10 affirmative responses). Obesity was defined as body mass index > /=30 kg/m(2). Outcomes were analyzed by multivariable logistic regression. RESULTS: Fourteen percent were food insecure. Women with food insecurity had 1.4 the odds of obesity as those who were fully food secure, adjusting for race/ethnicity and health status (95% confidence interval [CI] 1.22-1.62). Food-insecure women were 80% less likely to report strong social support than women who were fully food secure (95% CI 0.11-0.36). Social support as measured in this study did not modify the association between food insecurity and obesity. CONCLUSIONS: Women reporting food insecurity reported lower levels of social support and were more likely to experience obesity. Interventions to reduce obesity in women who are food insecure must consider the limited resources available to these women.Source
J Womens Health (Larchmt). 2017 Nov 28. doi: 10.1089/jwh.2017.6454. Link to article on publisher's site
DOI
10.1089/jwh.2017.6454Permanent Link to this Item
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.14038/29216PubMed ID
29182494Related Resources
ae974a485f413a2113503eed53cd6c53
10.1089/jwh.2017.6454