Food Insecurity and Chronic Disease

Food insecurity is when people are unable to access the food necessary to live a healthy life. This may look like skipping meals, reducing portion sizes, or relying on inexpensive meals. However, access to food does not necessarily mean fully overcoming food insecurity; Reliable access to healthy food is the solution. In the United States, 48 million people experience food insecurity annually. Understanding food insecurity is important for preventing chronic disease.

The Root of Food Insecurity

Food insecurity stems from more than just a lack of food. It is a public health and equity issue. Barriers such as low income, lack of affordable housing, lack of transportation, food availability, and even racial disparities can prevent access to food. These challenges are structural rather than the result of individual choices. Improving food insecurity means addressing the conditions that cause it. See the Community Based Solutions section for organizations that assist individuals with food insecurity.

Food Insecurity and Health

Because food insecurity can lead to an unstable or unhealthy diet, those with food insecurity often develop chronic diseases. From 2019-2022, researchers at USDA discovered that adults in very low food-secure households were 3.6 to 9.5 percent more likely to develop hypertension, arthritis, diabetes, asthma, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) than adults in high food-secure households.

Nutritious foods contribute to a long and healthy life. Fresh fruits and vegetables contain fiber, vitamins, and antioxidants. Organic fish, beef, chicken, and other animal products have a lower risk of exposure to antibiotics, growth hormones, and pesticides. In contrast, the consumption of foods that contain these substances may lead to pesticide residue exposure (which can cause reproductive problems, asthma, and cancer) and other health complications.

However, these foods may be inaccessible to some because of pricing or unavailability in local grocery stores. As a result, many individuals turn to less nutritious, inexpensive foods, which contain added sugars, sodium, and saturated fats. Consistently eating this food increases the chance of obesity, cardiovascular disease, type 2 diabetes, non-alcoholic fatty liver disease, and cancer (Junk Food and Your Health, 2023). In the event that someone with food insecurity is diagnosed with a disease, they may have trouble purchasing the recommended foods for managing their condition.

Children living in food insecure households have a higher risk of poor growth and anemia (Casey and Winsler, 2025). Both of these conditions may result in long term effects on brain development and behavior (Soliman et al., 2014).

Community Based Solutions

There are several organizations that help food-insecure households. Some in the United States include:

• SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program): Helps eligible low-income individuals and families purchase food

• WIC (Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children): Provides nutritious foods, nutrition education, and referrals to eligible pregnant women, new parents, infants, and young children.

• Summer Electronic Benefit Transfer (EBT)/SUN Bucks: Provides grocery benefits to eligible school-age children in the summer when they do not have access to school meals. Here is a link for more information: https://www.cdss.ca.gov/sun-bucks

Conclusion

Food insecurity contributes to chronic disease by limiting access to nutritious food, increasing reliance on less nutritious options, and making it more difficult to manage existing conditions. Communities need affordable nutritious food and nutrition education. Access to nutrition is an essential part of a long, healthy life, and improving food security is an important step towards preventing chronic disease.

Works Cited

Casey, Emma G, and Adam Winsler. “Impacts of Food Insecurity on Child Development: Strengthening the Role of Childcare.” Nutrients, vol. 17, no. 15, 2025, p. 2427, https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17152427.

Drewnowski, Adam. “Food Insecurity Has Economic Root Causes.” Nature Food, vol. 3, no. 8, Aug. 2022, pp. 555–56, https://doi.org/10.1038/s43016-022-00577-w.

Feeding America. “Understanding Hunger and Food Insecurity.” Feeding America, 2025, https://www.feedingamerica.org/hunger-in-america/food-insecurity.

Healthdirect Australia. “Junk Food and Your Health.” Www.Healthdirect.Gov.Au, healthdirect, 2023, https://www.healthdirect.gov.au/junk-food-and-your-health.

“Organic or Not?” ColumbiaSurgery, 2026, https://columbiasurgery.org/news/2014/06/05/organic-or-not.

“Predicted Prevalence of Five Chronic Diseases Increased as Household Food Security Worsened | Economic Research Service.” Usda.Gov, 2024, https://www.ers.usda.gov/data-products/charts-of-note/108211.

Soliman, AshrafT, et al. “Anemia and Growth.” Indian Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, vol. 18, no. 7, 2014, p. 1, https://doi.org/10.4103/2230-8210.145038.

“The Benefits of Organic Meat | the Organic Center.” Www.Organic-Center.Org, https://www.organic-center.org/site/benefits-organic-meat. Accessed 4 Sept. 2026.