Food insecurity and adolescents psychosocial health problems globally: observations based on school going adolescents...

Food insecurity is linked to a higher risk of psychosocial health problems in adolescents. The prime aim of this study is to explore the relationship between food insecurity and psychosocial health issues among school-going adolescents across multiple countries.

We used data from the Global School-based Student Health Survey (GSHS) conducted in 59 countries across five WHO regions. Poisson regression models were applied to pooled data to identify food insecurity and other relevant risk factors and calculated predictive marginal means post-estimation.

The prevalence of food insecurity among adolescents was 39.58 % (95 % CI: 39.35-39.81) for those who experienced it "sometimes or rarely" and 8.04 % (95 % CI: 7.92-8.17) for those who experienced it "most of the time or always." Adolescents living in food-insecure households reported higher rates of anxiety (19.27 %, 95 % CI: 19.23-19.31), loneliness (22.43 %, 95 % CI: 22.39-22.48), suicidal ideation (21.60 %, 95 % CI: 21.56-21.65), suicidal plans (19.24 %, 95 % CI: 19.20-19.28), and suicide attempts (23.81 %, 95 % CI: 23.77-23.86). Significant factors identified in both pooled and regional analyses included food insecurity, being female, older age, bullying, physical assault, physical fighting, serious injury, lack of peer support, parental disengagement (e.g., not checking homework or understanding adolescents' problems), and lack of close friendships.

This study underscores the global burden of food insecurity on adolescent mental health. The findings highlight the need for integrated interventions-such as school-based mental health programs, strengthened social protection systems, and family engagement strategies-to support psychosocial well-being among food-insecure adolescents worldwide.