Published: July 2025
Bibliographic reference: Noah Gibson. Food security dynamics and health: the association Between chronic food insecurity, psychological distress, and self-rated health in the United States. Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition, 24 Jun 2025. https://doi.org/10.1080/19320248.2025.2536232
Abstract
This study uses longitudinal data from the Panel Study of Income Dynamics (2015–2021) to examine the relationship between the number of years an individual is food insecure and two health measures: psychological distress and self-rated health. Results show that individuals that experience chronic food insecurity (across all four observation years) are more likely to report poor/fair health and higher levels of psychological distress relative to individuals that experience food insecurity for one, two, or three years. Furthermore, the association between food insecurity and both health outcomes is cumulative, showing a linear effect with each additional year of food insecurity.