Rachel Widome1, Agnes Jensen2, Ann Bangerter2, Steven S Fu2. 1. 1Division of Epidemiology and Community Health,University of Minnesota School of Public Health,1300 South 2nd Street #300,Minneapolis,MN 55454,USA. 2. 2VA HSR&D Center for Chronic Disease Outcomes Research (CCDOR),Minneapolis VA Health Care System,Minneapolis,MN,USA.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: Food insecurity, or lack of access to sufficient food for a healthful lifestyle, has been associated with many aspects of poor health. While the economic struggles among veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been documented, it is unknown how commonly this population struggles to afford food. Our purpose was to document the prevalence and correlates of food insecurity among US veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SUBJECTS: US military veterans who had served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since October 2001. SETTING: Subjects responded to a survey mailed to them in summer 2012. Food security was measured by the US Household Food Security Module: Six Item Short Form. Demographic and behavioural health items were also included. Survey data were matched to medical record data from the Department of Veterans Affairs. RESULTS: Over one in four veterans reported past-year food insecurity with 12 % reporting very low food security. Food-insecure veterans tended to be younger, not married/partnered, living in households with more children, earning lower incomes, had a lower final military pay grade, were more likely to use tobacco, reported more frequent binge drinking and slept less, compared with those who were food secure (P<0.05 for all associations listed). CONCLUSIONS: Previously undocumented, the problem of hunger among our newest veterans deserves attention.
OBJECTIVE: Food insecurity, or lack of access to sufficient food for a healthful lifestyle, has been associated with many aspects of poor health. While the economic struggles among veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have been documented, it is unknown how commonly this population struggles to afford food. Our purpose was to document the prevalence and correlates of food insecurity among US veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. DESIGN: A cross-sectional survey. SUBJECTS: US military veterans who had served in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan since October 2001. SETTING: Subjects responded to a survey mailed to them in summer 2012. Food security was measured by the US Household Food Security Module: Six Item Short Form. Demographic and behavioural health items were also included. Survey data were matched to medical record data from the Department of Veterans Affairs. RESULTS: Over one in four veterans reported past-year food insecurity with 12 % reporting very low food security. Food-insecure veterans tended to be younger, not married/partnered, living in households with more children, earning lower incomes, had a lower final military pay grade, were more likely to use tobacco, reported more frequent binge drinking and slept less, compared with those who were food secure (P<0.05 for all associations listed). CONCLUSIONS: Previously undocumented, the problem of hunger among our newest veterans deserves attention.
Authors: Alicia J Cohen; James L Rudolph; Kali S Thomas; Elizabeth Archambault; Megan M Bowman; Christine Going; Michele Heisler; Thomas P O'Toole; David M Dosa Journal: Fed Pract Date: 2020-01
Authors: Alicia J Cohen; David M Dosa; James L Rudolph; Christopher W Halladay; Michele Heisler; Kali S Thomas Journal: Public Health Nutr Date: 2021-11-08 Impact factor: 4.022
Authors: Rachel Widome; Anne M Joseph; Patrick Hammett; Michelle Van Ryn; David B Nelson; John A Nyman; Steven S Fu Journal: Prev Med Rep Date: 2015-10-29