by, Briana Deutou

Food insecurity has been proven to reap adverse effects on children including the following: increased developmental risk, lower physical function, lower psychosocial function, lower motor and mental development, and mental health problems among many others. Food insecurity which is the experience of not knowing where your next meal is coming from is inherently stressful. So much so that food insecurity which has proven to be a persistent concern in high-income countries, has been shown to be a marker of poor mental health among females with studies identifying associations with mood and anxiety disorders and suicidal ideation. Mental health problems in both mothers and children are more common when mothers are food insecure.

In a recent experiment, dyads of parents and children ages 8-17 years old attending medical appointments were surveyed about food insecurity in order to assess the convergence of parent and child reports on food insecurity and several specific mental health symptoms. When parents were asked about their child worrying about food running out or eating less than desired to preserve food, the adult and child reports diverged significantly, with adults frequently underestimating the worry and conservation behaviors compared to child self-reports. Similar differences were found when adults and children were probed for specific symptoms of depression, general anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder. Along with symptoms of depression, general anxiety, and obsessive-compulsive disorder, children from households exhibit persistent hyperactivity and inattention, and more emotional, peer, and conduct problems. Food insecurity, for the reasons shown above and more, has proven itself essential to pediatric health and should be of interest to any caregiver or pediatrician serving patients who are demographically at a higher risk for food insecurity.