Associations between lack of social support and food insecurity: A cross-sectional analysis of the 2024 BRFSS
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Objective
To verify the association between perceived social & emotional support and self-reported food insecurity in the United States
Design
Cross-sectional secondary data analysis
Setting
Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System (BRFSS) data from 2024, collected via a nationwide telephone survey. Food insecurity was defined as responding always, usually, or sometimes to “During the past 12 months how often did the food that you bought not last, and you didn’t have money to buy more?” Social support was measured using a BRFSS item assessing the frequency with which respondents received the social and emotional support they needed. Adjusted logistic regression models were used to assess the relationship between these variables while controlling for a wide variety of demographic, socioeconomic, and health status factors.
Participants
Adults (n = 190,577) aged 18-80 years old (72.3% non-Hispanic White)
Results
Individuals who reported only “sometimes” receiving the social and emotional support they need were more likely to report food insecurity as compared to those who “always” receive such support (aOR = 1.75; 95% CI 1.56, 1.96).
Conclusions
These findings indicate that decreased social support may put individuals at higher risk of food insecurity. Future work should seek to understand the mechanisms of this association to inform targeted policy and other interventional programs.
