Journal of Food Processing & Technology

Authentication of Obesity Prevention in Household Food Insecurity

Derar Muyeen^* Department of Food Security, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil
^*Correspondence: Derar Muyeen, Department of Food Security, Federal University of Santa Maria, Santa Maria, Brazil, Email:

Received: 02-Mar-2023, Manuscript No. JFPT-23-20493; Editor assigned: 06-Mar-2023, Pre QC No. JFPT-23-20493 (PQ); Reviewed: 20-Mar-2023, QC No. JFPT-23-20493; Revised: 27-Apr-2023, Manuscript No. JFPT-23-20493 (R); Published: 03-Apr-2023, DOI: 10.35248/2157-7110.23.14.997

Description

The intersection of obesity and food insecurity in the USA high points a public health imperative for scientists, practitioners, and policy makers to document and address food system inadequacies and leverage existing social programmes to simultaneously address the nutritional needs of the population. Food insecurity and obesity affect different percentages of the population in the USA, and various socioeconomic and racial and ethnic communities are more at risk for both due to similar risk factors. As malnutrition symptoms brought on by low nutritional quality, obesity and food insecurity are also increasingly recognised as co-morbidities (higher intakes of nutrient-poor energy-dense foods). Because food insecurity and obesity are caused by a common food system, the system from which they originate has to be corrected. In this study, results exploring links between food insecurity and obesity in the United States (USA) and stress the necessity of closer coordination between food insecurity policies and initiatives and national public health goals for the prevention of obesity. We point out the connections among these nutrition-related public health problems and demand that the study and advocacy fields widen their horizons in order to focus their efforts on the common objective of enhancing the health of vulnerable populations. To direct simultaneous attention to the urgent public health issues of food insecurity and obesity, we present an ecological framework that identifies levers for change within the physical and social elements of food systems.

Food insecurity and excess

Although historically obesity and food insecurity have been seen as separate public health concerns, there has been an increase in interest in understanding the seemingly paradoxical relationship between obesity and food insecurity as a result of growing public health concern over the dual burden of food insecurity and obesity carried by some populations. The prevalence of obesity has substantially grown among adult, child, and adolescent populations in the USA during the past several decades. According to recent estimates from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, nearly one-third of adult Americans in the USA are obese. Similar data from the National Survey of Children’s Health indicate that approximately 16% of USA children are obese. Although historically obesity and food insecurity have been seen as separate public health concerns, there has been an increase in interest in understanding the seemingly paradoxical relationship between obesity and food insecurity as a result of growing public health concern over the dual burden of food insecurity and obesity carried by some populations. The prevalence of obesity has substantially grown among adult, child, and adolescent populations in the United States during the past several decades. More over one-third of the adult population in the USA is obese, according to recent estimates from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Around 16% of American children are obese, according to comparable statistics from the National Survey of Children's Health. Current demographic trends in obesity pose a danger to stop or revert trends towards improved health and longevity in the USA population. Obesity and related chronic diseases are major contributors to avoidable morbidity and mortality.

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) defines food security as having constant access to adequate food for all family members to lead healthy, active lives. Food insecure households are those whose members concern about having enough to eat since there aren't enough resources available. Households with a lack of access to food may have food security. Low food security households frequently employ coping mechanisms include eating less diversified meals, taking part in government food assistance programmes, and using community feeding programmes to avoid significantly changing their eating habits. Families with very poor food security lack the means to buy food, which interferes with one or more household members' regular eating schedules. There is some conflicting evidence from studies evaluating the nature of the link between food insecurity and the risk of obesity in children and adolescents. Recent meta-analytic study syntheses show a food insecurity and obesity in some subpopulations, including those with incomes below the poverty line, households with a single adult as the head of household, and households with African American and Hispanic heads of household. There is mounting evidence that these nutrition-related issues coexist, regardless of whether there is a direct link between food insecurity and obesity. Thus, there is a need for coordinated initiatives to end food insecurity in the USA and prevent obesity.