Food Security is Associated with Higher Diet Quality Among Children of the US-Affiliated Pacific Region.

Feb 13, 2023

Contributors: Melanie Hingle,Eliza Short,Tanisha Aflague,Carol Boushey,Jean Butel,Patricia Coleman,Jonathan Deenik,Travis Fleming,Melissa Olfert,Leslie Shallcross,Lynne R Wilkens,Rachel Novotny

The prevalence of food insecurity and its relationship to diet quality are factors impacting the health of persons living across the United States-affiliated Pacific region (USAP).
To characterize the relationship between household food security status and diet quality of 2- to 8-y-old children across jurisdictions in the USAP.
Baseline data from 2- to 8-y-olds (n = 3099) enrolled in the Children’s Healthy Living Program for Remote Underserved Minority Populations in the Pacific region, an obesity prevention study conducted in communities across Alaska, American Samoa, Commonwealth of the Northern Mariana Islands (CNMI), Guam, and Hawaii, and a concomitant prevalence study in communities across the Freely Associated States (FAS) (the Federated States of Micronesia: Kosrae, Pohnpei, Chuuk, Yap; Republic of Marshall Islands; Republic of Palau) were collected in 2012. Caregivers self-reported sociodemographic data and food insecurity. Assisted by their caregiver, children completed two dietary records on nonconsecutive, randomly assigned days. The Healthy Eating Index 2005 (HEI-2005) was used to assess the diet quality. Data were summarized overall and by jurisdiction. Differences in HEI-2005 and HEI component scores among jurisdictions and by household food security status were tested using 1-factor ANOVA.
Half or more of participants from American Samoa, Guam, CNMI, and FAS reported household food insecurity (n = 295, 59.7%; n = 292, 49.9%; n = 267, 54.6%; n = 572, 69.0%, respectively). HEI-2005 scores varied by jurisdiction (P < 0.001) and were significantly lower among FAS participants (54.7 ± 1.2) than among all other jurisdictions (P < 0.05). Total diet quality scores did not differ by food security status (59.9 ± 0.8 food secure compared with 58.3 ± 1.1 food insecure, P = 0.07); however, most diet quality adequacy component scores were significantly higher and moderation component scores significantly lower among participants in food secure households than those in food insecure households.
Significant differences in children’s diet quality and household food security existed across USAP jurisdictions.

Copyright © 2023 American Society for Nutrition. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

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ABOUT THE CONTRIBUTORS

Melanie Hingle,Eliza Short,Tanisha Aflague,Carol Boushey,Jean Butel,Patricia Coleman,Jonathan Deenik,Travis Fleming,Melissa Olfert,Leslie Shallcross,Lynne R Wilkens,Rachel Novotny
Melanie Hingle

School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA. Electronic address: hinglem@arizona.edu.

Eliza Short

School of Nutritional Sciences and Wellness, College of Agriculture and Life Sciences, The University of Arizona, Tucson, Arizona, USA.

Tanisha Aflague

Cooperative Extension and Outreach, University of Guam, Mangilao, Guam.

Carol Boushey

Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; Population Sciences in the Pacific Program, University of Hawai’i Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

Jean Butel

Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

Patricia Coleman

Nutrition and Health Programs, Northern Marianas College, Saipan, Northern Mariana Islands.

Jonathan Deenik

Department of Tropical Plant and Soil Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

Travis Fleming

Community and Natural Resources Division (Land Grant Program), American Samoa Community College, Pago Pago, American Samoa.

Melissa Olfert

Department of Human Nutrition and Foods, West Virginia University, Morgantown, West Virginia, USA.

Leslie Shallcross

Health, Home and Family Development, Institute of Agriculture, Natural Resources and Extension, University of Alaska, Fairbanks, Alaska, USA.

Lynne R Wilkens

Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; Population Sciences in the Pacific Program, University of Hawai’i Cancer Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.

Rachel Novotny

Department of Human Nutrition, Food and Animal Sciences, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resources, University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.