Food insecurity negatively impacts academic performance

• Author: Daniel Hruschka,Meg Bruening,Irene Woerden
• Date: 01 August 2019
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1864
• Published date: 01 August 2019

ACADEMIC PAPER

Food insecurity negatively impacts academic performance

Irene van Woerden

1

|Daniel Hruschka

2

|Meg Bruening

1

1

College of Health Solutions, Arizona State

University, Phoenix, Arizona

2

School of Human Evolution and Social

Change, Arizona State University, Tempe,

Arizona

Correspondence

Irene van Woerden, College of Health

Solutions, Arizona State University, 550 North

3rd Street, Phoenix, AZ 85004.

Email: irene.vanwoerden@asu.edu

Funding information

National Institutes of Health Common Fund

from the Office of the Director and the Office

of Behavioral and Social Sciences Research,

Grant/Award Number: 1DP5OD017910‐01

(PI: M. Bruening)

Recent research has documented high rates of food insecurity among university

students, particularly students in their first year. Food insecurity among university

students has been linked to poorer self‐reported health and academic outcomes.

However, few studies have linked reports of food insecurity to objective student

outcomes. In this study, we examine how food insecurity is associated with first‐year

university students' (n= 591) academic performance, adjusting for objective measures

of high school academic performance and self‐reported indicators of socioeconomic

background. Zero‐and one‐inflated beta regression was used to examine if food

insecurity predicted grade point average (GPA) in the fall 2015 and spring 2016

semesters. Logistic regression was used to determine if food insecurity at the end

of the fall 2015 and spring 2016 semesters was a predictor of retention to fall

2016. Food‐insecure students had a significantly lower GPA than food‐secure stu-

dents. In fall 2015, 59% of food‐insecure students obtained at least a “B”grade

(GPA = 3.00); our models suggest this percentage would increase to 72% if these

same students were food secure. Food‐insecure students were less likely to be

enrolled in fall 2016 than food‐secure students (OR = 0.72, 95% CI [0.41, 1.27]),

though this difference was not statistically significant. These results indicate that food

insecurity negatively impacts first‐year university students' academic performance,

even after adjusting for high school academic performance and socioeconomic

background. Students GPA, and potentially university retention rates, may increase

if food insecurity on campus is minimized.

1|INTRODUCTION

Current studies suggest that an average of 33% (range 14% to 59%) of

U.S. university students experiences food insecurity, defined by the

United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) as a lack of consis-

tent access to enough food for an active, healthy life (USDA, 2017),

with the prevalence increasing at the end of each semester (Bruening,

Argo, Payne‐Sturges, & Laska, 2017; Bruening, Woerden, Todd, &

Laska, 2018). The prevalence of food insecurity among university

students is much higher than estimates for U.S. households, which is

only 14.3% (Coleman‐Jensen, Gregory, & Singh, 2014). The prevalence

of food insecurity is most concentrated among those students who are

at greatest risk for poor academic performance and for leaving school

before graduation. Such students are those who receive financial aid,

work to pay for university, and receive less family assistance (Gaines,

Robb, Knol, & Sickler, 2014; Payne‐Sturges, Tjaden, Caldeira, Vincent,

& Arria, 2017). As universities aim to promote achievement for a more

inclusive range of students, it will be important to understand how

stressors encountered by students—such as food insecurity—can

detract from academic success (Gaines et al., 2014; Patton‐López,

López‐Cevallos, Cancel‐Tirado, & Vazquez, 2014; Payne‐Sturges

et al., 2017).

Food insecurity among young people is associated with a range of

negative outcomes, such as poorer eating habits, nutrition, and

physical and mental health (Bruening et al., 2018; Cook et al., 2006;

Eicher‐Miller, Mason, Weaver, McCabe, & Boushey, 2009; Gallegos,

Ramsey, & Ong, 2014; Hughes, Serebryanikova, Donaldson, &

Leveritt, 2011; Kirkpatrick & Tarasuk, 2008; Mello et al., 2010;

Payne‐Sturges et al., 2017; Stuff et al., 2004). Numerous studies have

also shown that food insecurity among schoolchildren is associated

with absenteeism from school and lower academic performance

across a range of indicators, including standardized test scores,

Received: 2 April 2018 Revised: 31 July 2018 Accepted: 15 August 2018

DOI: 10.1002/pa.1864

J Public Affairs. 2019;19:e1864.

https://doi.org/10.1002/pa.1864

© 2018 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/pa 1of10