Prevalence of Food Insecurity of Adolescent Students from 83 Countries
Authors: Nguyen Hoa T. , Frongillo Edward A. , Fram Maryah S. , Bernal Jennifer 
Published: November 2023

Background

Children are especially vulnerable to food insecurity, leading to nutritional, developmental, and behavioral consequences. Data for global monitoring of child food insecurity have not been available, making bringing global attention to address child food insecurity difficult.

Objectives

This study examined the prevalence of food insecurity among adolescent students in 83 countries by region and gender, and investigated potential explanatory factors for the variation among countries in this prevalence.

Methods

Data on food insecurity from students of ages 11 to 18 years from 2003 to 2014 were from the Global School‐based Student Health Study (GSHS) organized through the World Health Organization (WHO). We used the most recent GSHS datasets of 83 countries whose surveys included one item asking whether or not the student went hungry due to shortage of food in home over the past 30 days. The total and gendered prevalence of food insecurity in adolescent students were collapsed by country, using country sampling weights. Regional comparisons were made across five WHO‐defined regions, i.e., Africa (n=14), Western Pacific (n=17), South East Asia (n=6), Eastern Mediterranean (n=17), and Americas (n=28). Data about socio‐economic conditions and health environment were from World Bank and United Nation sources.

Results

The mean prevalence of food insecurity of adolescent students of both genders among the countries was 0.303 (SD 0.157). The food‐insecurity prevalence of adolescent students was significantly higher in Africa (0.412) and Western Pacific (0.419) than in South East Asia (0.272), Eastern Mediterranean (0.259), and Americas (0.222) (p<0.05). The mean prevalence of food insecurity was 0.293 (SD 0.157) for females and 0.312 (SD 0.158) for males. The male‐female difference in the prevalence was larger in Eastern Mediterranean (0.030) and South East Asia (0.030) than in Americas (0.020), Western Pacific (0.015), and Africa (0.004). Out of 83 countries, 10 had significantly higher male prevalence of food insecurity compared to that of females, while only one country had a significant difference in the opposite direction.

The prevalence of food insecurity of adolescent students was lower in countries with higher GDP, larger population, lower fertility rate, lower domestic food price index, and more access to clean water and sanitation facilities. The fertility rate alone explained 21.2% of the variance among countries in the prevalence, and total population explained an additional 11.4%. GDP per capita and others did not further explain the variance after the fertility rate.

Conclusion

Nearly a third of adolescent students in these 83 countries reported food insecurity as measured by one item about going hungry, with highest prevalence in the African and Western Pacific regions. Fertility rate, a measure of country social development, explained the most variation in food‐insecurity prevalence. Further investigation is needed to understand the gendered pattern of food insecurity in adolescent students.