Biomaterial Database

Food insufficiency exists in the United States: results from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES III). 1998

K Alaimo, and R R Briefel, and E A Frongillo, and C M Olson

National Center for Health Statistics, Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Hyattsville, Md., USA. ka22@cornell.edu

OBJECTIVE The purpose of this study was to estimate the prevalence of food insufficiency in the United States and to examine sociodemographic characteristics related to food insufficiency. METHODS Data were analyzed from the third National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, a cross-sectional representative sample of the civilian noninstitutionalized population living in households. Individuals were classified as "food insufficient" if a family respondent reported that the family sometimes or often did not get enough food to eat. RESULTS From 1988 through 1994, the overall prevalence of food insufficiency was 4.1% and was primarily related to poverty status. In the low-income population, food insufficiency was positively associated with being Mexican American, being under the age of 60, having a family head who had not completed high school, participating in the Food Stamp Program, and not having health insurance. It was not related to family type or employment status of the family head. Over half of food-insufficient individuals lived in employed families. CONCLUSIONS Food insufficiency is not limited to very low-income persons, specific racial/ethnic groups, family types, or the unemployed. Understanding food insufficiency is critical to formulating nutrition programs and policies.

UI	MeSH Term	Description	Entries
D007182	Income	Revenues or receipts accruing from business enterprise, labor, or invested capital.	Income Distribution,Income Generation Programs,Savings,Distribution, Income,Distributions, Income,Income Distributions,Income Generation Program,Incomes,Program, Income Generation,Programs, Income Generation
D007223	Infant	A child between 1 and 23 months of age.	Infants
D008875	Middle Aged	An adult aged 45 - 64 years.	Middle Age
D009749	Nutrition Surveys	A systematic collection of factual data pertaining to the nutritional status of a human population within a given geographic area. Data from these surveys are used in preparing NUTRITION ASSESSMENTS.	NHANES,National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey,Nutritional Surveys,Nutrition Survey,Nutritional Survey,Survey, Nutrition,Survey, Nutritional,Surveys, Nutrition,Surveys, Nutritional
D002648	Child	A person 6 to 12 years of age. An individual 2 to 5 years old is CHILD, PRESCHOOL.	Children
D002675	Child, Preschool	A child between the ages of 2 and 5.	Children, Preschool,Preschool Child,Preschool Children
D005006	Ethnicity	A group of people with a common cultural heritage that sets them apart from others in a variety of social relationships.	Ethnic Groups,Nationality,Ethnic Group,Nationalities
D005191	Family Characteristics	Size and composition of the family.	Family Size,Couples,Family Demography,Family Life Surveys,Family Size, Average,Family Size, Completed,Family Size, Desired,Family Size, Expected,Family Size, Ideal,Family and Household,Generations,Head of Household,Households,One-Person Household,Average Family Size,Average Family Sizes,Completed Family Size,Completed Family Sizes,Demography, Family,Desired Family Size,Desired Family Sizes,Expected Family Size,Expected Family Sizes,Family Characteristic,Family Demographies,Family Life Survey,Family Sizes,Family Sizes, Ideal,Household,Household Head,Household Heads,Household and Family,Household, One-Person,Ideal Family Size,Ideal Family Sizes,One Person Household,One-Person Households,Survey, Family Life
D006801	Humans	Members of the species Homo sapiens.	Homo sapiens,Man (Taxonomy),Human,Man, Modern,Modern Man
D006815	Hunger	The desire for FOOD generated by a sensation arising from the lack of food in the STOMACH.