OBJECTIVES. We sought to determine if the prevalence of depression and anxiety in mothers and the prevalence of behavior problems in preschool-aged children are more common when mothers report being food insecure. METHODS. A cross-sectional survey of 2870 mothers of 3-year-old children was conducted in 2001–2003 in 18 large US cities. On the basis of the adult food-security scale calculated from the US Household Food Security Survey Module, mothers were categorized into 3 levels: fully food secure, marginally food secure, and food insecure. The 12-month prevalence in mothers of a major depressive episode and generalized anxiety disorder was assessed by the Composite International Diagnostic Interview-Short Form. A child behavior problem in ≥1 of 3 domains (aggressive, anxious/depressed, or inattention/hyperactivity) was based on the Child Behavior Checklist. RESULTS. Seventy-one percent of the respondents were fully food secure, 17% were marginally food secure, and 12% were food insecure. After adjustment for sociodemographic factors plus maternal physical health, alcohol use, drug use, prenatal smoking, and prenatal physical domestic violence, the percentage of mothers with either major depressive episode or generalized anxiety disorder increased with increasing food insecurity: 16.9%, 21.0%, and 30.3% across the 3 levels. Among children, after further adjustment for maternal major depressive episode and generalized anxiety disorder, the percentage with a behavior problem also increased with increasing food insecurity: 22.7%, 31.1%, and 36.7%. CONCLUSIONS. Mental health problems in mothers and children are more common when mothers are food insecure, a stressor that can potentially be addressed by social policy.

Food insecurity and the risks of depression and anxiety in mothers and behavior problems in their preschool-aged children.

During the past decade, rates of food insecurity and obesity have risen, and an association has been made between these two seemingly paradoxical states Although this relationship has not been repeatedly seen in men, research suggests a correlation in women Studies have not been able to consistently show a relationship in children, because findings differ based on age, race/ethnicity, household income, and sex Several proposed hypotheses explain why a correlation between food insecurity and obesity exists in adults—especially women—but not in children This review proposes a conceptual framework linking the Food Stamp Program and other coping strategies to the food insecurity–obesity relationship This link has implications for Food Stamp Program policy changes, welfare reform, and poverty prevention

The Food Insecurity–Obesity Paradox: A Review of the Literature and the Role Food Stamps May Play

These classroom activities, based on the Australian Guide to Healthy Eating, help explore the outcomes and subject matter in the PDHPE K-6 syllabus. The activities for Early Stage 1 focus on the food groups and encourage children to try new foods. Stage 1 activities focus on selecting a variety of foods from the different food groups for healthy eating. Stage 2 activities focus on the importance of eating fruit and vegetables. In Stage 3 students are required to look at their food habits and what they eat each day.

Australian Dietary Guidelines

Access to food is essential to optimal development and function in children and adults. Food security, food insecurity, and hunger have been defined and a U.S. Food Security Scale was developed and is administered annually by the Census Bureau in its Current Population Survey. The eight child-referenced items now make up a Children's Food Security Scale. This review summarizes the data on household and children's food insecurity and its relationship with children's health and development and with mothers' depressive symptoms. It is demonstrable that food insecurity is a prevalent risk to the growth, health, cognitive, and behavioral potential of America's poor and near-poor children. Infants and toddlers in particular are at risk from food insecurity even at the lowest levels of severity, and the data indicate an "invisible epidemic" of a serious condition. Food insecurity is readily measured and rapidly remediable through policy changes, which a country like the United States, unlike many others, is fully capable of implementing. The food and distribution resources exist; the only constraint is political will.

https://nyaspubs.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1196/annals.1425.001

Food security, poverty, and human development in the United States.

OBJECTIVES. In this study, we evaluated the relationship between household food security status and developmental risk in young children, after controlling for potential confounding variables. METHODS. The Children9s Sentinel Nutritional Assessment Program interviewed (in English, Spanish, or Somali) 2010 caregivers from low-income households with children 4 to 36 months of age, at 5 pediatric clinic/emergency department sites (in Arkansas, Massachusetts, Maryland, Minnesota, and Pennsylvania). Interviews included demographic questions, the US Food Security Scale, and the Parents9 Evaluations of Developmental Status. The target child from each household was weighed, and weight-for-age z score was calculated. RESULTS. Overall, 21% of the children lived in food-insecure households and 14% were developmentally “at risk” in the Parents9 Evaluations of Developmental Status assessment. In logistic analyses controlling for interview site, child variables (gender, age, low birth weight, weight-for-age z score, and history of previous hospitalizations), and caregiver variables (age, US birth, education, employment, and depressive symptoms), caregivers in food-insecure households were two thirds more likely than caregivers in food-secure households to report that their children were at developmental risk. CONCLUSIONS. Controlling for established correlates of child development, 4- to 36-month-old children from low-income households with food insecurity are more likely than those from low-income households with food security to be at developmental risk. Public policies that ameliorate household food insecurity also may improve early child development and later school readiness.

Household food insecurity: associations with at-risk infant and toddler development.

Food insecurity has been associated with diverse developmental consequences for U.S. children primarily from cross-sectional studies. We used longitudinal data to investigate how food insecurity over time related to changes in reading and mathematics test performance, weight and BMI, and social skills in children. Data were from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten Cohort, a prospective sample of approximately 21,000 nationally representative children entering kindergarten in 1998 and followed through 3rd grade. Food insecurity was measured by parent interview using a modification of the USDA module in which households were classified as food insecure if they reported > or =1 affirmative response in the past year. Households were grouped into 4 categories based on the temporal occurrence of food insecurity in kindergarten and 3rd grade. Children's academic performance, height, and weight were assessed directly. Children's social skills were reported by teachers. Analyses examined the effects of modified food insecurity on changes in child outcomes using lagged, dynamic, and difference (i.e., fixed-effects) models and controlling for child and household contextual variables. In lagged models, food insecurity was predictive of poor developmental trajectories in children before controlling for other variables. Food insecurity thus serves as an important marker for identifying children who fare worse in terms of subsequent development. In all models with controls, food insecurity was associated with outcomes, and associations differed by gender. This study provides the strongest empirical evidence to date that food insecurity is linked to specific developmental consequences for children, and that these consequences may be both nutritional and nonnutritional.

Food insecurity affects school children's academic performance, weight gain, and social skills

Household food insecurity is associated with multiple adverse outcomes in children and adolescents, including poor school performance. U.S. federal food assistance programs such as the Food Stamp Program (FSP) aim to help prevent household food insecurity and its outcomes. Program participation may act as a resource either to counteract the effects of constraints such as food insecurity or to modify the effects of food insecurity on outcomes. This study aimed to determine whether FSP participation was associated with child reading and mathematics learning, weight gain, and social skills and whether these associations depended on degree of estimated need for the program. Data used were from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Study-Kindergarten cohort, a large nationally representative sample. A difference (i.e., fixed-effects) model was used to minimize bias in the estimation of association resulting from unmeasured covariates. Starting FSP participation during the 4 years from K to third grade was associated with about a 3-point greater improvement in reading and mathematics score as compared with stopping FSP participation during that period. But it was for female students only that this association was large and significant. Children in households starting FSP participation had slightly but not significantly less weight gain compared with children in households stopping FSP participation. This study provides the strongest evidence to date that FSP participation plausibly has beneficial effects for children on nonnutritional outcomes, specifically academic learning. The mechanisms for this relationship are not well understood and may be through both dietary intake and stress.

/pdf/food-stamp-program-participation-is-associated-with-better-2xc7x36z81.pdf

Diana F. Jyoti

Papers

Food insecurity affects school children's academic performance, weight gain, and social skills

Food Stamp Program Participation Is Associated with Better Academic Learning among School Children