Food Insecurity, Food Deserts, and Waist-to-Height Ratio: Variation by Sex and Race/Ethnicity.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the association between two food-related hardships-food insecurity and living in a food desert-on waist-to-height ratio (WHtR). Data on participants from waves I and IV of the National Longitudinal Study of Adolescent to Adult Health (Add Health) were analyzed. The association between food-related hardships and waist-to-height ratio were examined using logistic regression. Models were stratified by sex and race/ethnicity to examine potential moderating effects. Study results suggest food insecurity has a positive association with WHtR among female respondents (OR = 1.360, p = .017). Living in a food desert has a positive association with WHtR among both females (OR = 1.247, p = .026) and males (OR = 1.245, p = .024). In models stratified by race/ethnicity living in a food desert is positively associated with WHtR among White respondents (OR = 1.279, p = .003). Given the link between food-related hardships and obesity, targeted interventions that alleviate food insecurity and inadequate access to healthy food retailers could be effective in reducing obesity.