Food insecurity is associated with past and present economic disadvantage and body mass index

Fears and experiences of food restriction influence eating behavior but the association between past and present economic disadvantage, food insecurit y and body size is poorly understood. Therefore, we examined these associat ions in a nationwide, representative sample of 25- to 64-y-old Finnish men and women (n = 6506). The respondents were classified by their body mass in dex (BMI) into four groups: thin, normal, overweight and obese. Economic di sadvantage was assessed by three indicators including low household income, unemployment during past 5 y and long-term economic problems in childhood. Food insecurity was assessed by five separate items concerning economic fe ars and experiences related to sufficient supply of food during the past 12 mo, and a combined scale in which those with affirmative responses to four to five items were classified as hungry. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted using both the BMI grouping and indicators of econ omic disadvantage as independent variables to predict food insecurity, cont rolling simultaneously for age, educational attainment and sex. The results showed that low household income, recent unemployment and economic problem s in childhood were all predictors of food insecurity. Thin people were mos t likely to be hungry and showed most food insecurity in five separate item s. In addition, obese people reported more buying cheaper food due to econo mic problems and fears or experiences of running out of money to buy food t han did normal weight subjects. In conclusion, both past and present econom ic disadvantage is associated with various aspects of food insecurity. The association between food insecurity and BMI is curvilinear.