Citation

Booth S, Pollard CM. Aust. N. Zeal. J. Public Health 2020; ePub(ePub): ePub.

Affiliation

School of Public Health, Curtin University, Western Australia.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2020, Public Health Association of Australia, Publisher John Wiley and Sons)

DOI

10.1111/1753-6405.12977

PMID

32190940

Abstract

Household food insecurity, when a person or household has inadequate or insecure access to food due to financial or other constraints, is a growing public health problem in most rich countries with developed economies, particularly where there is inequality.1 Food insecurity adversely impacts individuals and adds to societal burden due to lost productivity, avoidable healthcare expenditure and the cost of feeding families. Surprisingly, the prevalence and economic burden of food insecurity are not often reported in developed countries, including Australia, but costs in the US in 2011 were estimated at ∼US$167.4 billion.2

The causes of food insecurity lay largely outside the influence of the health sector, but the health consequences are serious and substantial. Food insecurity is associated with expensive and avoidable social and chronic disease burden including overweight, obesity, diet‐related disease and mental illness in adults, and poor growth and development, dental caries, socioemotional impairment and behavioural issues in children.3, 4 Not only is the experience of being food insecure traumatic, but it is also often accompanied by other poverty‐related stressors that amplify its effect.5 Given the costs and detrimental public health impact, what action is being undertaken to prevent food insecurity and protect public health in Australia?

Ultimately, it is a complex web of poverty and financial hardship that renders people vulnerable to food insecurity. Food insecurity can be considered an outcome of ‘structural violence’ ...

Language: en