Another Measure of Food Insecurity Among Children (Children’s HealthWatch, August 2009)

Data collected in the Children’s HealthWatch sample shows an increase in food insecurity among families with young children from 18.5% in 2007 to 22.6% in 2008. They also find that children who are food insecure are 30% more likely to be hospitalized, 90% more likely to be in fair or poor health, and nearly twice as likely to have iron deficiency anemia.

Children’s HealthWatch monitors food insecurity through pediatric interviews with the families of children up to age 3 who use emergency rooms and clinics in Boston, Baltimore, Little Rock, Minneapolis, and Philadelphia. Their sample includes data on 32,000 children and their families, with 4,500 added each year. Food insecurity is measured using the U.S. Food Security Scale. Data collected in the Children’s

HealthWatch sample shows an increase in food insecurity among families with young children from 18.5% in 2007 to 22.6% in 2008. They also find that children who are food insecure are 30% more likely to be hospitalized, 90% more likely to be in fair or poor health, and nearly twice as likely to have iron deficiency anemia.

http://www.childrenshealthwatch.org/page.php?id=165

http://www.childrenshealthwatch.org/upload/resource/FoodInsecurityBrief6_09.pdf