Food insecurity and health outcomes in a USDA identified food desert

Abstract

Food security is the ability of people to access enough food at all times for an active healthy life. Prior research has found numerous correlations between food insecurity and poor health including increased risk of heart disease, hypertension, depression and poor or fair health status. The purpose of this research is to measure rates of food security among food desert residents in a USDA identified food desert in La Crosse, WI and determine if food insecure residents are at an increased risk of having poor health outcomes than food secure residents. This was a cross-sectional descriptive study, (N=2,068) with a final sample size of 575 respondents. The data was analyzed using chi-square and logistic regression. Results indicated a significant correlation between individuals who are food insecure and someone in their household with depression, poor or fair general health status, and a higher mean Body Mass Index (BMI). Food Insecure residents were 3.5 times more likely than food secure residents to have fair or poor health when controlled for other factors. There was not a statistically significant correlation between food insecurity and diabetes, hypertension, general BMI classification, and chronic disease.