Child Food Insecurity Is Associated with Energy Intake among Fourth- and Fifth-Grade Girls.

Background: Food insecurity is associated with poor diet and obesity among adult women, but evidence among children is mixed, and few studies have examined differences between boys and girls.
Objective: This study examined the relationship between self-reported food insecurity and dietary intake among boys and girls.
Design: Cross-sectional survey data were used from the Children's PowerPlay! Campaign evaluation.
Participants and Setting: In all, 3,547 fourth- and fifth-grade students (9 to 11 years old) from 44 San Diego-area elementary schools in 2012 completed diary-assisted 24-hour recalls and a questionnaire that included five questions from the Child Food Security Assessment.
Main Outcome Measures: Individual dietary components (including total energy, nutrients, and sugar-sweetened beverages), Healthy Eating Index-2010 scores, and meal patterns (such as meal sizes and missed meals) were derived from 24-hour recalls.
Statistical Analyses: Multivariable linear and logistic regression models were used to estimate the relationships between food insecurity and diet characteristics.
Results: Girls with the highest food insecurity consumed 135 total kilocalories (P<0.005) and 60 snack kilocalories (P<0.05) more per day than girls with no food insecurity. These relationships were absent among boys.
Conclusions: Food insecurity among girls in grades 4 and 5 was associated with higher energy intake. Findings support the need for further research to better understand the nature of this relationship and its implications for energy balance.
(Copyright © 2019 Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Published by Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.)