Food insecurity, defined as not having access to sufficient food, affects children and households in urban, suburban and rural areas across the country. While more densely populated areas are thought to have easier access to food for a well-balanced diet, a study conducted by experts at the CNRC shows that this is not the case. Households across all regions of the U.S. face food insecurity and share similar shortcomings.
“We’ve been hearing about health disparities when it comes to people living in rural areas, but there are few studies that did a direct comparison of rural versus urban dietary quality,” said Dr. Jayna Dave, associate professor of pediatrics at Baylor and first author of the paper.
Dave’s team used data from responses the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys had published between 2013 and 2016 and compared them to participation in the federal nutrition assistance programs. Among approximately 6,400 children and adolescents, 13% reported child food insecurity and 30% reported household food insecurity. Among responders, 90% participated in the assistance programs, and 88% were enrolled in school lunch programs.
Children in urban areas were significantly more likely to report household food insecurity than those in rural areas.
“This finding contradicts a lot of findings from other studies,” Dave said. “Children in urban areas, especially those in the 6- to 11-year-old age range, reported higher household food insecurity compared to those living in rural areas.”
When looking at the quality of diets in the survey responses, the team used the Healthy Eating Index of 2015 (HEI), which scores a diet based on the number of food groups and nutrients to emphasize and those to minimize. HEI scores of less than 51 indicate a poor diet. Overall, children of both urban and rural residence were found to have a poor diet, with an average HEI score of below 50. Those aged 2 to 5 had a slightly higher average score of 51, and those aged 12 to 17 had the worst average score at 46.
While the data used in this study looked at numerous factors such as income level, age, and others, Dave says more research is needed to understand the various barriers that lead to the higher probability of urban families experiencing food insecurity.
“In urban areas, we see that access to healthy food is limited by access to transportation. Many low-income families don’t have their own cars,” Dave said. “There are a lot of food assistance programs, but especially in places where there isn’t adequate public transportation, they may not be able to get to these programs.”
Dave’s team says there is a need for improvement in children’s diet quality, regardless of age or urban or rural residence. Improving children’s diets will require broader action, as well as the prioritization of children in urban areas who experience food insecurity, through future dietary interventions.
By Aaron Nieto, communications associate
at Baylor College of Medicine
