Study: Food insecurity in Canadian households

Almost 15% of Canadians, or an estimated 3.7 million people, were considered to be living in what is known as a "food-insecure" household at some point during 2000/01, according to the article "Food insecurity" published today in Health Reports.

The report, based on data from the Canadian Community Health Survey (CCHS), also found that more than 40% of people in low- or lower-middle-income households reported some degree of food insecurity.

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: someone had worried about not having enough to eat; someone had not eaten the quality or variety of food desired; or someone had not had enough to eat.

While food insecurity was much less common in higher-income households, it was not unknown. About 11% of people in upper-middle income households reported at least one dimension of it, as did 4% in high-income households. In middle-income households, almost 25% reported at least one aspect of the problem.

(For the purposes of the CCHS, a household of three or four people was considered low-income if it had total income of less than $20,000.)

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 changes in economic circumstances that contribute to temporary bouts of food insecurity.

For example, the impact of a job loss around the time of the CCHS 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.

About 7% of Canadians reported that they or someone in their household did not have enough to eat in the year before the survey because of a lack of money. Larger proportions had compromised the quality or variety of their diet, or had worried about not having enough to eat.

One group of women was at especially high risk. One-third of female lone parents reported food insecurity, almost double the figure for male lone parents. In contrast, just 9% of people who were partners in a couple without children reported food insecurity.

The rate was also notably high among Aboriginal people living off-reserve. About 31% replied affirmatively to at least one of the questions on food insecurity, more than double the rate for non-Aboriginal people.

Definitions, data sources and methods: survey number 3225.

The article "Food insecurity" is now available in the May 2005 issue of Health Reports, Vol. 16, no. 3 (82-003-XIE, $17/$48; 82-003-XPE, $22/$63).

For more information, contact Ingrid Ledrou (613-951-6567; ingrid.ledrou@statcan.gc.ca), Health Statistics Division.