Research Paper on US Food Insecurity: High Rates in Midwest & South in 2017

Introduction

Food insecurity is a state where consistent access to enough food tends to be limited, thus leading to disrupted eating patterns and minimized food intake. In 2017, the United States had fifteen million households who experienced food insecurity. The rate of food insecurity was high in the Midwest and South of the United States. For example, in the United States, groups that experienced high rates of food insecurity were the low-income households that consisted the non-Hispanic households, blacks, households that were headed by single women, and the houses that had kids below age six. Food insecurities were facilitated by the low wages received by workers in different industries, underemployment, and increased unemployment rates in the country. People who live below the poverty line are the ones with the most significant risk of food insecurity. Also, the families that live below the poverty line face difficulties when choosing between food and various necessities such as medical care, utilities, transportation, and housing. People and families who experience food insecurity cope by either purchasing unhealthy foods, selling their property, skipping meals, or seeking help from friends. The federal program in the United States is not capable of meeting the requirements of the participants, thus experiencing difficulty to access the necessities and food.

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I find the topic of food insecurity to be significant since it elaborates on what most individuals in the United States and globally are experiencing. Food insecurity affects the dietary behavior of people leading to reduced health benefits. Also, children in families that experience food insecurity have a higher prevalence of mental health, hospitalization, and developmental delays. Adults facing food insecurities are at a higher risk of chronic diseases such as hyperlipidemia, obesity, and diabetes. The audience for this annotated bibliography is diverse since food insecurity is a significant menace in the current society. During the research process, I hope to have a greater understanding and gain knowledge concerning the causes, effects, economic impacts, and approaches to reduce food insecurity globally.

Research Question

• What is the definition of food insecurity?
• Who are the most affected persons by food insecurities?
• What are the causes and effects of food insecurities globally?
• What are the approaches to deal with food insecurities?

Annotated Bibliography

Bhargava, V., & Lee, J. S. (2017). Food insecurity and health care utilization among older adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 36(12), 1415-1432. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0733464815625835

The article by Bhargava& Lee (2017), examines the relationship between medical care utilization and food insecurity among the elderly in society. The study analyzed the Medicaid and Medicare services that were connected with the performance outcomes measures in Georgia. The survey indicated that almost half of the sample in Georgia faced food insecurities. Also, after the study, the food insecure persons were less than the food secure individuals. The study stated that there was no much difference between the levels of food insecure older individuals and medical care utilization by the food secure persons. Therefore, after reading the article, readers can gain more knowledge about how food insecurities relate to healthcare benefits.

Essien, U. R., Shahid, N. N., & Berkowitz, S. A. (2016). Food insecurity and diabetes in developed societies. Current diabetes reports, 16(9), 79. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s11892-016-0774-y

According to Essien, Shahid & Berkowitz (2016), food insecurity plays a vital role in public health, especially vulnerable groups. The article defines food insecurity as limited access to safe and adequate foods. The study indicates an association that exists between diabetes and food insecurity. The article elaborates on the various pathophysiologic pathways and mechanisms between diabetes and food insecurity. Therefore, readers can use information in this article to find more data that is related to food insecurity and diabetes.

Kaiser, L., Chaidez, V., Algert, S., Horowitz, M., Martin, A., Mendoza, C., & Ginsburg, D. C. (2015). Food resource management education with SNAP participation improves food security. Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, 47(4), 374-378. Retrieved from https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S1499404615000524

The study aimed at determining the influence of SNAP and members' demographics regarding nutrition education results. The survey used a seven-item questionnaire that evaluated the change experienced in resource management skills. After the study, it was found out that the Hispanic ethnicity and female gender had a close relationship with the Pre-Post RMS. Therefore, readers tend to gain knowledge concerning food resource management education, hence promoting food security in communities.

Loo, C. (2014). Towards a more participative definition of food justice. Journal of agricultural and environmental ethics, 27(5), 787-809. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10806-014-9490-2

Food justice is defined in various participatory terms as it emphasizes the distributional inequalities. According to Loo (2014), the participative inequalities are facilitated by the distributional inequalities, thus causing the marginalized groups in societies to create an impact in the food systems. For the informed consent, the idea of food justice can be redefined, thus capturing the significance of participative justice.

Loopstra, R., Reeves, A., & Stuckler, D. (2015). Rising food insecurity in Europe. The Lancet, 385(9982), 2041. Retrieved from https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lancet/article/PIIS0140-6736(15)60983-7/fulltext?rss%3Dyes=

The article by Loopstra, Reeves& Stuckler (2015) indicates that in most European nation's people are still queueing for food aid. In 2013-2014, the food banks in the United Kingdom provided food aid to people due to increased cases of food insecurities. In the current years, there is growth in the number of persons who need emergency food aid. The article states that food insecurity if the insufficient and uncertain access and availability of food that arises from the resource conflicts. Through the information provided in this article, readers can get a clear understanding of the definition of food insecurity and the current situation in the United Kingdom.

Piontak, J. R., & Schulman, M. D. (2014). Food insecurity in rural America. Contexts, 13(3), 75-77. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/1536504214545766

The article focused on the details of food insecurity in rural America. According to Piontak & Schulman (2014), 17.6 million households were termed as food insecure the United States Department of Agriculture. The data indicated that these individuals had no resources or money for enough food. The inadequate food supply has detrimental effects on the educational, physical, and emotional development of the kids. In 2012, twenty percent of the households which had children below 18 years experienced food insecurities. The number of food-insecure homes was high in metropolitan areas in 2012. Regionally, in America, the families present in the South, which included the rural areas, had the highest number of food insecurity. Therefore, I have found this article useful to the reader since it has vital information regarding food insecurity in the rural set-ups of America.

Purdam, K., Garratt, E. A., & Esmail, A. (2016). Hungry? Food insecurity, social stigma, and embarrassment in the UK. Sociology, 50(6), 1072-1088. Retrieved from http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.946.511&rep=rep1&type=pdf

According to Purdam, Garratt & Esmail (2016), food plays a significant role in defining an individual's identity. The continued increase in the number of food donations and food banks suggests a normalization in food aids. The study examines the demonization of people living in poverty and the discourse of food aids. The article states that food bank users had issues concerning the social stigma of emergency food aids. Therefore, the readers and researchers can question if the current policy approaches us politically or economically towards the impact of one well-being and health.

Sriram, U., & Tarasuk, V. (2015). Changes in household food insecurity rates in Canadian metropolitan areas from 2007 to 2012. Canadian Journal of Public Health, 106(5), e322-e327. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/article/10.17269/cjph.106.4893

The study by Sriram& Tarasuk (2015), seeks to provide a comparison between the prevalence rates within the Canadian provinces and within the census metropolitan area (CMA). Also, the study assesses the impact created by the local economic features concerning the changes present in CMA food-insecure regions. The study used data from 2007-2012 annual components to generate the food insecurity rates. The survey used fixed-effects linear regression analysis in examining the connection between the local areas' economic concepts and the alterations of food insecurity. At the end of the study, it showed that the unemployment rate is associated with the rise in food insecurities among the CMAs. Therefore, readers and researchers can utilize this study to determine the relationship between unemployment rates and food insecurities.

Vaccaro, J. A., & Huffman, F. G. (2017). Sex and race/ethnic disparities in food security and chronic diseases in US older adults. Gerontology and Geriatric Medicine, 3, 2333721417718344. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/2333721417718344

The study by Vaccaro& Huffman (2017) aimed at determining the relationship between ethnicity, sex, and food insecurity with the likelihood of lung diseases, cancer, cardiovascular diseases, and diabetes among the elderly in the society. The study utilized complex sample analysis to conduct surveys in different years. The results of the study indicated that females who had low access to food suffered from diabetes and lung diseases. Poverty in society was associated with cardiovascular diseases. Therefore, readers of this article can gain an understanding of how food insecurity is related to various chronic diseases among older persons.

Zakari, S., Ying, L., & Song, B. (2014). Factors influencing household food security in West Africa: The case of Southern Niger. Sustainability, 6(3), 1191-1202. Retrieved from https://www.mdpi.com/2071-1050/6/3/1191

According to Zakari, Ying & Song (2014), food insecurity is among the significant challenges among many African countries. The survey investigated the factors that affect the family's food security in Niger. The information present in the article can be used by researchers globally, as these factors do not have significant differences. For example, some of the factors stated in the article were; drought, poverty, disease and insect attacks, soil infertility, and high food costs. Also, the findings indicated that flooding, poverty, diseases, and pests, access to the market, and food aid are among the vital factors that affect food security. Therefore, due to the presented factors in the article, food insecurity continues to be a severe menace in most countries.

References

Bhargava, V., & Lee, J. S. (2017). Food insecurity and health care utilization among older adults. Journal of Applied Gerontology, 36(12), 1415-1432. Retrieved from https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/abs/10.1177/0733464815625835

Essien, U. R., Shahid, N. N., & Berkowitz, S. A. (2016). Food insecurity and diabetes in developed s...