Characterizing Food Sourcing Behaviors by Food Security Status Among a Representative Sample of the United States Population
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Date
2024-03
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Abstract
Background: Many epidemiological studies have investigated associations between food insecurity and diet quality, but fewer studies have explored population-level associations between food insecurity and food sourcing behaviors. Food sourcing behaviors refer to the strategies one employs to obtain food including purchases at grocery/ convenience stores, food from community programs, and more. Nutrition interventions are often targeted to specific populations based on food security status or the location they purchase their food, but investigations focused on food sourcing behaviors are often qualitative and lack generalizability.
Methods: The objective of this work is to describe and compare food sourcing behaviors of food secure and food insecure consumers in the United States. Data from a 24-hour dietary recall collected as part of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES was used to describe food sourcing behaviors of a representative sample of the United States population. Binary and adjusted logistic regression were used to estimate associations between food insecurity status and sourcing of food from different establishment types, including food pantries, grocery stores, and school-feeding programs among youths and adults.
Results: The most popular source of food was grocery stores, with approximately 63% of the population reported consuming food from a grocery store during the study period. Food insecure youth (2.53 [95% CI: 1.60, 4.02]) and adults (1.71 [95% CI: 1.33,2.19]) were both more likely to consume food from a convenience store than food secure consumers during the story period. Food insecure youth were also 1.60 (95% CI: 1.18, 2.17]) times more likely to receive food from an institution during the study period.
Conclusion: This analysis provides estimates from a recent, nationally representative survey to quantify associations between food insecurity and food sourcing behaviors which have been demonstrated in previous qualitative studies. Statistically significant differences in the food sourcing behaviors of food secure and food insecure consumers were observed.
Description
Poster Division: Social and Behavioral Sciences: 3rd Place (The Ohio State University
Edward F. Hayes Advanced Research Forum)
Keywords
Food Sourcing Behaviors, Food Insecurity, NHANES