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Accepted manuscript

Food Insecurity is Associated with Poor Mental Health Outcomes Among a Diverse Sample of Young Adults

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  13 June 2025

Natalie S. Poulos Open the ORCID record for Natalie S. Poulos [Opens in a new window] ,
Sarah A. Pitman ,
Cayley E. Velazquez  and
Keryn E. Pasch Open the ORCID record for Keryn E. Pasch [Opens in a new window]
Natalie S. Poulos*
Affiliation:
Assistant Professor, Department of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, 200 West 24th Street, Austin, TX, 78705. Phone: 512-232-1573.
Sarah A. Pitman
Affiliation:
Doctoral Student, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, The University of Texas at Austin, 2109 San Jacinto, Austin, TX, 78705. Email: sbuettner@utexas.edu.
Cayley E. Velazquez
Affiliation:
Faculty Instructor, Department of Biological and Health Sciences, Kwantlen Polytechnic University, 12666 72 Avenue, Surrey, BC V3W 2M8. Email: Cayley.Velazquez@kpu.ca.
Keryn E. Pasch
Affiliation:
Associate Professor, Department of Kinesiology and Health Education, The University of Texas at Austin, 2109 San Jacinto, Austin, TX, 78705. Email: Kpasch@austin.utexas.edu.
*
Correspondence addressed to: Natalie.Poulos@austin.utexas.edu.
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Abstract

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Objective:

Young adulthood is a transitional period between childhood and adulthood characterized by unique stressors that increase the risk of food insecurity and poor mental health. This study examined the association between food insecurity and mental health outcomes among U.S. young adults aged 18-25.

Design:

A cross-sectional survey was completed by young adults between the ages of 18-25 years between January and April 2022. Key measures included food insecurity, perceived stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and insomnia. Descriptive statistics and linear regression analyses were used to determine the prevalence of and associations between food insecurity and mental health outcomes, controlling for key demographic and social factors.

Setting:

Online survey

Participants:

1,630 U.S. young adults

Results:

Among the analytic sample of 1,041 young adults, nearly 70% of participants identified as being food insecure in the last year. Participants reported moderate to high levels of perceived stress, anxiety, depressive symptoms, and insomnia. Food insecurity was positively associated with each mental health outcome including perceived stress (β=2.28, p<0.01), anxiety (β=2.84, p<0.01), depressive symptoms (β=2.74, p<0.01), and insomnia (β=1.28, p<0.01) after controlling for all other factors.

Conclusion:

Food insecurity is associated with mental health problems among young adults. Future efforts should explore the directionality of this relationship to determine if food insecurity initiates or exacerbates poor mental health outcomes or if poor mental health contributes to food insecurity. Interventions to improve food security status may also help support mental health among young adults.

Keywords

Young AdultsMental HealthDepressive SymptomsAnxietyStressInsomniaFood InsecurityCOVID-19
Type
Short Communication
Information
Public Health Nutrition , Accepted manuscript , pp. 1 - 14
Creative Commons
Creative Common License - CCCreative Common License - BY
This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution licence (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted re-use, distribution and reproduction, provided the original article is properly cited.
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2025. Published by Cambridge University Press on behalf of The Nutrition Society