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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
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The 130th Annual Meeting of APHA |
Betty Greer, PhD, RD, Agricultural Extension Service, University of Tennessee, 119 Morgan Hall, 2621 Morgan Circle, Knoxville, TN 37996-4501, 865.974.7402, bgreer@utk.edu and Paula Carney, PhD, RD, Department of Health and Safety Sciences, University of Tennessee, 1910 Andy Holt Ave., Knoxville, TN 37996-2710.
The purpose of this study is to examine the association of food insufficiency with overall health status and obesity in the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). Using the food sufficiency question in the household survey, a participant was classified as food insufficient if the family "sometimes" or "often" did not have enough food to eat. A comparison group was randomly selected from food sufficient individuals. Health status was determined from the five-category global health assessment question. Body mass index was measured during the physical exam. A data set was created, outliers were identified and excluded, and selected variables were recoded using SAS. Data were analyzed using the SUDAAN software program because it can account for the complex sampling design of NHANES III. All point estimates were weighted to reflect population distribution and non-response of some participants. Prevalence Odds Ratios (PORs) were estimated for the impact of food insufficiency on health status by multiple logistic regression analysis. PORs were estimated for the impact of obesity on food insufficiency using logistic regression analysis. Due to their potential to impact health, selected sociodemographic variables were included in the models as covariates. Food insufficient participants were 2.5 times more likely (CI 1.16-2.06; p=0.0033) to report "fair" or "poor" health status compared to food sufficient subjects. Overweight women were 2.6 times more likely (CI 1.24-4.74; p=0.0026) to be food insufficient than normal weight women. Results suggest that food insufficiency is linked to both overall health status and obesity.
Learning Objectives:
Keywords: Food Security, Obesity
Presenting author's disclosure statement:
I do not have any significant financial interest/arrangement or affiliation with any organization/institution whose products or services are being discussed in this session.