`public health nutrition, Peer-reviewed journal

The findings of a new study suggest that Americans who experienced food insufficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic were three times as likely to lack mental health support in comparison to those who did not experience it.This study was published in the journal Public Health Nutrition. The most extreme form of food insecurity, food insufficiency occurs when families do not have enough eat.Among a nationally representative sample of 68,611 adults who participated in the US Census Household Pulse Survey in October 2020, 11 per cent reported food insufficiency. Of those, 24 per cent also reported an unmet mental health need compared to 9 per cent of food-sufficient adults."Hunger, exhaustion, and stress-related to not getting enough food to eat may lead to depression and anxiety," said lead author, Jason Nagata, MD, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco."The experience of food insecurity could lead affected people to prioritize food over other needs such as seeking health care, using up considerable time and energy to navigate food pantries and free meal services, or locate and visit affordable food stores," added Nagata.Food insufficiency was also associated with higher use of psychiatric medications: 27 per cent of food-insufficient adults reported psychiatric medication use compared to 19 per cent of food-sufficient adults."To better address these problems, medical professionals, social workers, and clinicians can screen patients for both symptoms of anxiety and depression to ensure they have sufficient access to food," said co-author Kyle T. Ganson, PhD, assistant professor at the University of Toronto's Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work.The researchers argue that clinicians should assess for food insecurity and provide referrals to food assistance programs."Policymakers should focus on increasing funding for food assistance and mental health services as part of pandemic relief legislation," said Nagata. "Expanding access to supplemental food programs may help to mitigate the need for more mental health services during the pandemic."( With inputs from ANI )Disclaimer: This post has been auto-published from an agency feed without any modifications to the text and has not been reviewed by an editor

Home

City

Latest News

Cricket

LT Premium

National

International

Maharashtra

Opinions

Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar

Nagpur

Entertainment

Photos

Business

Technology

Sports

Lifestyle

Social Viral

Lokmat Games

Health

Lok Sabha Election 2024

Ram Navami 2024

Dubai Rains

Maharashtra Lok Sabha Election

IPL 2024

Salman Khan

`public Health NutritionFOLLOW

`public health nutrition, Latest News

Lifestyle :Buying groceries online could lead to missing key information, says study

The first reaction of mankind, when COVID-19 was declared a global pandemic was, to run to the nearest grocery store and stock up essentials like vegetables, fruits, tinned food, frozen food and toiletries for months. As humanity's trust in human con ...

Health :Research finds breastfeeding is being overtly discouraged by infant formula websites

Despite public health efforts to support breastfeeding and informed choice, during a news study, an analysis of websites for baby formula manufacturers found that their messages and images discourage breastfeeding while touting the benefits of the fo ...

Health :Lack of mental health services during pandemic linked to food insufficiency

The findings of a new study suggest that Americans who experienced food insufficiency during the COVID-19 pandemic were three times as likely to lack mental health support in comparison to those who did not experience it. ...