Socio-demographic risk factors for food insecurity among students at five North Carolina colleges: The influence on fruit and vegetable intake and perceived health and well-being

Objective

Food insecurity is a critical public health problem for U.S. college students. We sought to understand food insecurity, the associated risk factors, and the influence on health behavior and outcomes among a sample of North Carolina college students.

Methods

Cross-sectional data collected from February–April 2023 from students (N = 3043) of five four-year institutions (four public/one private, three rural/two urban) assessed food security status in relation to socio-demographic characteristics, fruit and vegetable intake, and perceived health and well-being. Multinomial and binary logistic regression analyses were performed to evaluate statistical associations between variables, with fruit and vegetable intake and perceived health and well-being as outcome variables.

Results

Nearly 30 % (29.4 %) of respondents reported low or very low food security status. Statistically significant differences were found in food security status across several socio-demographic variables. Significantly, higher food security status was correlated with increased odds of more regular consumption of fruits and vegetables; undergraduate students had decreased odds of fruit and vegetable consumption when compared to graduate students. Respondents with lower food security status had increased odds for a poorer perceived health status, higher stress, and worse sleep quality.

Conclusions

Results suggest those facing socioeconomic hardships are more likely to encounter low food security as college students, which serve as predictors for less regular consumption of fruits and vegetables and poorer health and well-being outcomes. Institutions of higher education should develop targeted and tailored interventions for these populations, and policies should be evaluated to identify risk and protective factors for food security that could impact health and well-being.