Hey friends! I hope you are all well. In today's blogpost I will share some thoughts on an important public health issue. As you know this blog is centered around all things health and nutrition. Everything from recipes, holistic health to public health topics like the one I will discuss today can all be found on this blog. This topic is of great importance given everything that went on this year. 2020 was really that year. Every inequity that has been under the radar was unveiled no longer to be ignored. Now that they are out in the open, we can take steps to address and potentially eradicate these issues. So, let's get into it.
Food Insecurity is characterized by lack of reliable and consistent access to safe and nutritious food that can be attained in a socially acceptable way. Let's dissect this a bit:
Lack of reliable access: This means that the person is uncertain of when the next meal or grocery trip will be. Could be because of low/inconsistent income, grocery store too far away for regular trips etc.
Safe and Nutritious food: This means foods that are free of contamination (pathogenic bacteria/poison/other unsafe particles). An example of unsafe food would be food found in the garbage or expired food.
Attained in a socially acceptable way: A socially acceptable way of acquiring food, would be: purchasing at a shop, market or store, whereas a socially unacceptable way of acquiring food would be stealing or collecting food from the garbage etc.
The opposite of food insecurity is food security in which the person has reliable access to a variety of safe and nutritious food acquired in a socially acceptable way. Food insecurity can be caused by a number of reasons. It could be due to an unstable financial situation or low availability of shopping sites, famine etc. As a result of these different factors, food insecurity levels can vary. The USDA divides food insecurity into two categories:
Low Food Insecurity: Refers to a lack of variety, quality and desirability of the diet. In other words, the person may have consistent access to food, but the food they have access to is not what they prefer to eat or the variety is low as it relates to the available options. Though there is food available to provide energy, there are other needs that the available food might not be meeting, for example, the flavors might not be appealing, nutritional content is low, lack of emotional connection to the eating experience, connection to cultural identity etc. These factors can lead to disruptions in the relationship that this person has with food. More on this later.
Very Low Food Insecurity: In this situation the person may have disruptions in food intake. One moment there may be food available and the next moment there is little to no food available. Length of time between lack and food availability may vary from time to time depending on the situation.
Why is this an issue?
Food insecurity is an important public health concern because it is linked to a number of chronic illnesses and affects a vast amount of people. According to FeedingAmerica.org food insecurity is projected to affect over 50million people due to the current pandemic. Food is a basic human need and is one of the very first tiers on Maslow's hierarchy of needs. For those who are unaware of Maslow's Hierarchy of needs, it is basically a ranking system of a list of needs required by humans in order to live a fulfilling and active life. When I was in primary school we learned about basic needs: food, clothing, shelter and water. It is safe to say that before we can fulfill any other human need we have to first fulfill our basic needs. Not having consistent access to a variety of foods that are safe and nutritious can affect our health in a number of ways. Firstly, it can lead to worry and sadness which may possibly turn into depression and also increase stress. In fact, there is research that links food insecurity to depression and suicidal ideation. It can also disrupt a person's relationship with food in that people may be more inclined to overeat or binge. This is because food insecurity is a form of deprivation and feeds into the restrict binge phenomenon. This means that even though it is not intentional restriction (your body can't tell the difference), when food becomes available, an individual might overeat or binge because they have been lacking. The body is very good at protecting itself. If it senses starvation then it will do what it needs to in order to provide energy for itself i.e. overcompensate through increased appetite whenever food is around.
The food environment is a major predictor of health outcomes whether good or bad. As I mentioned earlier, food insecurity can result from unstable financial circumstances where the person might not have enough money to purchase a variety of food on a consistent basis. It can also result from lack of access. Let's introduce another term that is used a lot in public health: food desert. In a food desert there is less accessibility to a variety of fresh produce (fruits and vegetables). There tends to be less grocery stores and more convenience food stores. People living in this environment are usually food insecure and are more susceptible to poor health outcomes. Food insecurity is a social determinant of health and contributes to health disparities. From a nutrition perspective food deserts are not the best food environment as it does not foster freedom of choice; since there is less variety. People have to get what is available to them. Additionally, it does not allow for balanced living since there is less variety. Convenience foods definitely have their place in a balanced diet. Here at the Holistic Health Nut we stand by the premise that ' All Foods Fit'. So, this is by no means a demonization of convenience foods. The issue arises when systemic barriers affect an individual's access to variety, including foods that are nutrient dense.
Connection to Health and Intervention Strategies
Public health Efforts have been put into place to address food insecurity. There have been various research studies done to identify what can be done and to assess the food environment. Various intervention strategies such as food pantries, food rescues and distribution, nutrition education classes, food and nutrition policies, Food assistance programs like WIC and SNAP etc. have been created to address this problem. These all sound very good, but how effective are they? They each come with their own list of limitations. For example, certain interventions like food pantries and food distribution have stigma attached to them. Some individuals might refrain from going to the pantry because they feel shame for not being able to provide for themselves. This is 100% understandable and warrants the need for better intervention programs. I used to volunteer for an organization when I was an undergrad, that facilitated food distribution programs where individuals would come and collect groceries. The food items were rationed, meaning each household is given a certain amount of each item being offered. This fails to take into consideration how many people are in each household. As a result, it's possible that these food items might not last very long if the household is more than two people.
Even though they come with limitations, these interventions are still helpful. They present a good start to dealing with this issue, but there is still a mighty long way to go. Research is still being done to adequately assess and analyze the food environment, organizations are still trying to improve their interventions and there are amazing people out there on the front lines that are actively communing with government officials and working on policies to improve the community nutrition landscape.
As for the connection to poor health outcomes, food insecurity has been linked to increased risk of depression, diabetes, hypertension, hyperlipidemia and a number of other chronic illnesses. With all of this in mind, food insecurity should be included in the discussion (in healthcare, academic and general settings) regarding health and health outcomes. When it comes to health and illnesses, particularly those that are said to be connected to nutrition, it is important that we consider social determinants of health such as food insecurity. This is because barriers to adequate nutrition as well as other factors also affect health and its never as simple as "personal responsibility."
By now we are well aware that racism is at the root of all the inequities in society; including food insecurity. Still, I have hope, because I've seen people rise up this year against all the inequities that exist. Bringing awareness is the first step and now we can move forward in doing the best we can to help eliminate these problems.
Thank you all for being apart of the Holistic Health Nut community this year and I look forward to discussing topics like this with you in 2021. Feel free to leave a comment or message me on IG @theholistichealthnut. Please subscribe and share this post with family and friends! We love having the community grow! Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year when it comes!
Cheers <3
References
Food Insecurity. (n.d.). Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://www.healthypeople.gov/2020/topics-objectives/topic/social-determinants-health/interventions-resources/food-insecurity
Mcleod, S. (2020, March 20). Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs. Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://www.simplypsychology.org/maslow.html
The Impact of Coronavirus on Food Insecurity. (n.d.). Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://www.feedingamerica.org/research/coronavirus-hunger-research
Craig Gundersen and James P. Ziliak, A, C., JP, Z., C, G., SL, C., HA, E., . . . Figueroa, J. (2015, November 01). Food Insecurity And Health Outcomes: Health Affairs Journal. Retrieved December 21, 2020, from https://www.healthaffairs.org/doi/full/10.1377/hlthaff.2015.0645
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