The Impact of Food Insecurity on Women’s Health
Summary
Data consistently show that women are especially vulnerable to food insecurity and its health consequences. Research from the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) reveals that household food-insecurity rates for households with children headed by a single mother (30.3 percent) and for women living alone (14.7 percent) are particularly high.
A large body of evidence demonstrates that food insecurity has detrimental impacts on health and well-being in the short and long terms for children and adults. These impacts often hit women — and mothers — especially hard.
Consider the problem of obesity. Based on several literature reviews, there is strong and consistent evidence of a higher risk of obesity among food-insecure women, but not for food-insecure men or children. There are a number of factors that help explain this relationship. For example, mothers struggling with hunger often sacrifice their own quality of nutrition in order to protect their children from hunger, which can increase the mother’s risk of obesity.
Source: Food Research and Action Center (2017). The Impact of Food Insecurity on Women’s Health.