U of M Study Finds That Teens in Low Income Households May Have Poor Eating Habits

MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (May 27, 2009) – According to University of Minnesota Project Eating Among Teens (EAT) researchers, adolescents living in households that struggle to afford food are more likely to be overweight, report eating behaviors associated with obesity, and perceive greater barriers to eating healthfully. This inability to obtain enough food for a healthy, active lifestyle due to economic struggles is termed “food insecurity,” and it is a current reality for many adolescents living in the United States.

Rachel Widome, Ph.D., M.H.S., researcher at the Minneapolis VA Medical Center and an assistant professor at the University of Minnesota Medical School, along with colleagues, used data from Project EAT, an ongoing study that assessed eating and weight-related behaviors in 4,746 adolescents from 31 urban Minneapolis-St. Paul, schools during the 1998-99 academic year.

Results showed that 8.4 percent of adolescents reported being hungry at least once in the past year because their family could not afford food, while 4.1 percent reported that they often or sometimes do not have enough to eat.

“This is an urgent problem, especially given the economic reality for many families is far worse now than it was in the late 1990s, when we conducted the survey,” Widome said.

In the study, food-insecure youths were more likely to consume greater than the recommended proportion of fat in their diet. They were also more likely to be obese. This may be due to certain eating-related factors that food insecure youth reported more frequently, such as eating fewer family meals and breakfasts and consuming more fast food.

Although food insecure youth were more likely to perceive barriers to eating healthfully, such as viewing it as inconvenient, they were just as likely to see benefits to eating healthfully compared to their food secure peers.

“This indicates that the answer to this problem is not trying to educate these youth as to why they should be eating healthfully.  Instead we need to figure out how to remove obstacles that prevent them from eating well,” Widome said.

This study was supported by the Maternal and Child Health Bureau, Health Resources and Service Administration, and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services.

The Academic Health Center is home to the University of Minnesota’s six health professional schools and colleges as well as several health-related centers and institutes. Founded in 1851, the University is one of the oldest and largest land grant institutions in the country. The AHC prepares the new health professionals who improve the health of communities, discover and deliver new treatments and cures, and strengthen the health economy.

Contact:   
Jen Faris, Academic Health Center, 612-626-4784 or faris010@umn.edu
Laura Stroup, Academic Health Center, 612-624-5680 or stro0481@umn.edu