Is Child Food Insecurity Underreported? Evidence from Daily, Monthly, and 9-month Measures
View abstract on PubMed
Summary
This summary is machine-generated.Parental reports of child food insecurity are less accurate over longer periods. Shorter recall periods, like daily or monthly, better capture the child
Area Of Science
- Public Health
- Nutrition Security
- Child Welfare
Background
- Food insecurity is a significant public health concern affecting families.
- Standardized measures, often using 12-month recall, may not fully capture the nuances of food insecurity, especially for children.
- Understanding reporting consistency across different timescales is crucial for accurate assessment.
Purpose Of The Study
- To explore the consistency of parental reports of their own and their children's food insecurity across daily, monthly, and 9-month periods.
- To provide preliminary insights into the alignment of food insecurity reports over shorter versus longer reference periods.
Main Methods
- Utilized a subsample of 125 low-income parents with school-aged children.
- Administered daily, monthly, and 9-month food insecurity questionnaires.
- Employed significance tests and regression analyses to assess agreement and identify factors associated with underreporting.
Main Results
- Food insecurity is generally underestimated when reported over longer timescales.
- Parents reported less child food insecurity at monthly compared to daily intervals.
- Household and parent food insecurity were reported more consistently across timescales than child food insecurity.
Conclusions
- The standard 12-month food insecurity measure may have limitations, particularly for assessing child experiences.
- Shorter recall intervals (e.g., daily, monthly) may provide more accurate insights into food insecurity.
- Improving child food insecurity assessment is critical for informing national food assistance policy.

