Food Insecurity and Child Health

Abstract

OBJECTIVES: Food insecurity is an important public health problem facing children in the United States. Although a number of previous studies suggest that food insecurity has negative impacts on health, these studies have not dealt thoroughly with issues of selection bias. We use propensity scoring techniques to approximate the causal effects of food insecurity on children’s health and health care use outcomes. METHODS: We use nationally representative data from the 2013–2016 waves of the National Health Interview Study (N = 29 341). Using inverse probability of treatment weighting, a propensity scoring method, we examine a broad range of child health outcomes and account for a comprehensive set of controls, focusing on a sample of children 2 to 17 years old. RESULTS: Household food insecurity was related to significantly worse general health, some acute and chronic health problems, and worse health care access, including forgone care and heightened emergency department use, for children. Compared to rates had they not been food insecure, children in food-insecure household had rates of lifetime asthma diagnosis and depressive symptoms that were 19.1% and 27.9% higher, rates of foregone medical care that were 179.8% higher, and rates of emergency department use that were 25.9% higher. No significant differences emerged for most communicable diseases, such as ear infections or chicken pox, or conditions that may develop more gradually, including anemia and diabetes. CONCLUSIONS: Policies used to reduce household food insecurity among children may also reduce children’s chronic and acute health problems and health care needs.