The Daily. Wednesday, August 15, 2001

Food insecurity in Canadian households

About 8% of Canadians, or just under 2.5 million people, had to compromise the quality or the quantity of their diet at least once in 1998/99 because of a lack of money, according to the National Population Health Survey (NPHS).

In the same period, an additional 0.5 million people worried that they would not have enough to eat because they were short on cash.

In total, the survey found that an estimated 3 million Canadians, about 10%, were considered to be living in what is known as a "food-insecure" household at some point during 1998/99. (Information is not available about the duration or possible recurrences of food insecurity.)

For purposes of the NPHS, households were considered to be food insecure if the person responding on behalf of the household acknowledged any of three circumstances stemming from a lack of money: worry that funds would be insufficient to buy food; not eating the quality or variety of food desired; or not having enough to eat.

In general, households with food insecurity have limited or uncertain access to enough food for a healthy, active life. These households have reduced quality and variety of meals, and may have irregular food intake. There may be a need for recourse to emergency food sources or to other services to meet basic food needs.

The NPHS found that about one-fifth of individuals in food-insecure households received help from food banks, soup kitchens or other charitable agencies in the year before the survey.

Children aged 0 to 17 were the age group most likely to live in a food-insecure household (14%), and seniors aged 65 or older, least likely (4%). But children in such households are not necessarily undernourished. Adult caregivers tend to sacrifice their own diet so that children will not be hungry.

Not limited to low-income households

Food insecurity in Canada is strongly associated with household income. More than one-third (35%) of people in low-income households reported some form of food insecurity in 1998/99. About 30% felt that their diet had been compromised. (For the purposes of the NPHS, a household of three or four people was considered low-income if it had total income of less than $20,000.)

Note to readers This release is drawn from "Food insecurity in Canadian households", one of three feature articles that appear in the latest edition of Health reports, available today. Data for all three articles came from the National Population Health Survey. For the article on food insecurity, data from the cross-sectional household component of the 1998/99 NPHS are analyzed. Those who identified themselves as living in food-insecure households were asked a set of supplementary questions, such as the use of food banks and problems feeding children. These questions were posed on behalf of Human Resources Development Canada. Data for the other two articles, which are on heart disease and physical activity, were derived from the longitudinal household components of the 1994/95, 1996/97 and 1998/99 NPHS.

But the NPHS found that food insecurity is not limited to low-income households. About 14% of residents of middle-income households reported some form of food insecurity, and nearly 12% reported that their diet had been compromised. To some extent, the existence of food insecurity at higher income levels may have to do with the fact that annual income is a static measure that may not be sensitive to sudden economic changes that contribute to temporary bouts of food insecurity. For example, the impact of a job loss around the time of the NPHS interview would not be reflected in annual income, which covered the previous 12 months. As well, the possibility of some misinterpretation of the questions cannot be discounted.

Food insecurity also varied with the source of household income. About 58% of households relying on social assistance reported food insecurity. It was also relatively common in households dependent on Employment Insurance, Workers' Compensation, the Child Tax Benefit, support or alimony, or that had no income.

Lone-parent households at risk

Many lone-parent households, particularly those headed by women, have low incomes and depend on social assistance. Not surprisingly, then, one-third (32%) of all single-mother households were food insecure to some extent, and 28% reported their diet had been compromised.

Related to health

Although the NPHS cannot show a cause-and-effect relationship between food insecurity and health, there are associations.

According to the 1998/99 NPHS, several health problems were more prevalent among people in food-insecure households than among those in households where the financial ability to acquire food was not a concern.

Results of the analysis indicate that 17% of individuals in food-insecure households described their health as "fair" or "poor" - more than twice the proportion (7%) for those who did not experience food insecurity.

Almost one-third (31%) of people in food-insecure households reported emotional distress, three times the rate of 10% in food-secure households.

Paradoxically, food insecurity was associated with obesity. Some research has shown that food-insecure people are more likely to "binge eat" or choose higher calorie foods when food is available. The analysis of NPHS data indicates that 15% of residents of food-insecure households were obese, compared with 12% of residents of households where food security was not a problem.

Other articles: heart disease, physical activity

The latest Health reports contains two other research articles. The first, "Heart disease, family history and physical activity", provides new evidence that even among people with a family history of heart disease, physical activity confers some protection against its development. This supports other studies suggesting that, through participation in physical activity, people with a family history of heart disease may be able to prevent or delay its onset.

The second, "Starting and sustaining physical activity", discusses factors associated with becoming and remaining active. Longitudinal data from the NPHS show that environmental, social and psychological factors may either facilitate or impede physical activity, although significant factors for men and women sometimes differ.

For example, women who were overweight or who were parents with children younger than 18 had significantly low odds of undertaking at least moderate leisure-time physical activity. Among men, neither weight nor household composition made any difference to becoming active.

The Summer 2001 issue of Health reports, Vol. 12, no. 4 (82-003-XIE, $15/$44; 82-003-XPE, $20/$58) is now available.

For more information, contact Janet Che (613-951-2544; cheajan@statcan.gc.ca) or Jiajian Chen (613-951-5059; chenjia@statcan.gc.ca).