Food Insecurity Is Associated with Subjective Well-Being among Individuals from 138 Countries in the 2014 Gallup World Poll. Issue 4 (1st March 2017)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Frongillo, Edward A; Nguyen, Hoa T; Smith, Michael D; Coleman-Jensen, Alisha
• Is Part Of: Journal of nutrition. Volume 147:Issue 4(2017)
• Page Start: 680
• Page End: 687
• Publication Date: 2017-03-01
• Subjects: food insecurity -- subjective well-being -- quality of life -- living conditions -- social support; Nutrition -- Periodicals; Diet -- Periodicals; 613.205
• DOI: 10.3945/jn.116.243642
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 0022-3166

Abstract

Abstract: Background: Food insecurity is an aspect of living conditions that is particularly important for quality of life, health, and subjective well-being. The implementation of the 8-item Food Insecurity Experience Scale in 147 countries in the 2014 Gallup World Poll provided an unprecedented opportunity to understand the association of food insecurity with subjective well-being. Objective: We examined how food insecurity relates with measures of living conditions and how food insecurity and other living conditions relate with physical health and, in turn, subjective well-being. Methods: Data were collected from individuals aged ≥15 y by telephone in 38 countries and via face-to-face interviews in 111 others. The available sample was 132, 618 (138 countries) and 122, 137 (137 countries) for the daily experience and life evaluation indexes of subjective well-being, respectively. Daily experience was a continuous measure and life evaluation was categorized into thriving, struggling, and suffering. We estimated 6 linear or logistic regression models for each index controlling for country as a fixed effect. Results: Food insecurity was associated with the other 3 measures of living conditions: household income, shelter and housing, and employment. Food insecurity explained poor physical health and lower subjective well-being beyond other measures of living conditions. Instrumental and emotional support was associated with higher subjective well-being. The associations of food insecurity with subjective well-being were larger than with other explanatory variables. Food insecurity was associated with subjective well-being within each of the 4 World Bank income classes of countries, with a larger magnitude of differences for the higher-income classes. Conclusions: Food insecurity was strongly and negatively associated with subjective well-being in a large global sample of individuals aged ≥15 y. These results demonstrate the consistency of goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals, which has targeted 2030 to ensure food security for all people, year-round, with other goals to reduce food insecurity.