Food Security
Food insecurity refers to the social and economic problem of lack of food due to resource
or other constraints. It is experienced when there is uncertainty about future food
availability and access, insufficiency in the amount and kind of food required for
health, and/or the need to use socially unacceptable ways to acquire food.
Current Novel Research Efforts
How children experience food insecurity and how to assess it in children.
Why food insecurity is so strongly associated with poor health and development outcomes.
The ways in which social and economic contexts place households at risk of food insecurity
and affect the potential to benefit from programs designed to alleviate food insecurity.
The cumulative impact of food insecurity over the life course.
How systems science can help identify opportunities to improve responses to food insecurity.
The role of food insecurity in the development of obesity, HIV, and chronic disease
such as diabetes.
Alleviating food insecurity in seniors.
Associated Affiliate Scholars
Blake, Christine, Ph.D., RD Draper, Carrie, MSW Fram, Maryah, Ph.D., MSW Frongillo, Edward, Ph.D. Kaczynski, Andrew T., Ph.D. Liese, Angela, Ph.D. Moran, Robert, Ph.D. Younginer, Nicholas, Ph.D.
Expand all Affiliate Publications
Adams E, Brickhouse T, Dugger R, Bean M. Patterns Of Food Security And Dietary Intake During The First Half Of The Child Tax
Credit Expansion . Health Affairs. 2022; 41:5. https://doi.org/10.1377/hlthaff.2021.01864Brown AD, Seligman H, Sliwa S, Barnidge E, Krupsky KL, Demissie Z, Liese AD . Food Insecurity and Suicidal Behaviors Among US High School Students. J Sch Health . 2022;10.1111/josh.13199. doi:10.1111/josh.13199
Draper CL , Morrissey E, Younginer N . Health Clinic Readiness to Implement Nutrition Supports in Partnership with SNAP-Ed . Journal of Nutrition Education and Behavior, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jneb.2021.03.008.Escobar-Alegria JL, Frongillo EA, Blake CE . Terminal logic behavior and strategic defection of governmental officials during presidential
transitions in Guatemala: Implications for the sustainability of food and nutrition
security policy . Current Developments in Nutrition org/10.1093/cdn/nzaa161, 2020.
Fram MS, Frongillo EA . Moving beyond giving free food: Specific targeting and tailoring in response to child
food insecurity. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics 121:S74-S77, 2020. doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2020.07.024Fram MS , Nguyen HT, Frongillo EA . Food Insecurity Among Adolescent Students From 95 Countries is Associated With Diet,
Behavior, and Health, and Associations Differ by Student Age and Sex . Current Developments in Nutrition , 2022, nzac024, https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzac024Frongillo EA. Validity and cross-context equivalence of experience-based measures of food insecurity . Global Food Security 32:100599, 2022.Frongillo EA , Bernal J, Rampalli KK , Massey E, Adams EJ, Rosemond TN, Blake CE. Experiences and Situations of Shame among Food-insecure Adolescents in South Carolina
and Oregon . Ecol Food Nutr . 2021;1-17. doi:10.1080/03670244.2021.1956484Frongillo EA, Fram MS , Ghattas H, et al. Development, Validity, and Cross-Context Equivalence of the Child Food Insecurity
Experiences Scale for Assessing Food Insecurity of School-Age Children and Adolescents . J Nutr . 2022;nxac127. doi:10.1093/jn/nxac127Hatcher AM, Weiser SD, Cohen CR, Hagey J, Weke E, Burger R, Wekesa P, Sheira L, Frongillo EA , Bukusi EA. Food insecurity and intimate partner violence among HIV-positive individuals in rural
Kenya. American Journal of Preventive Medicine . doi.org/10.1016/j.amepre.2020.06.025, 2020.
Kornbluh M, Hallum S, Wende M , Ray J, Herrnstadt Z, Kaczynski AT. Examining Disparities in Food Access Between Historically Black Colleges and Universities
and Non-Historically Black Colleges and Universities . Am J Health Promot . 2021;8901171211024412. doi:10.1177/08901171211024412
Liese AD. Shining a light on marginal food insecurity in an understudied population. Public Health Nutr . 2022;1-6. doi:10.1017/S1368980022001094Liese AD , Davis RE , Diaz D, Stucker J, Reid L, Jindal M, Stancil M, Jones SJ . (2020). Experiences of Food Insecurity and Type 2 Diabetes Management in Adults , Journal of Hunger & Environmental Nutrition .doi: 1080/19320248.2020.1826380. Liese AD , Sharpe PA, Bell BA, Hutto B, Stucker J, Wilcox S. Persistence and transience of food insecurity and predictors among residents of two
disadvantaged communities in South Carolina Appetite . 2021;161:105128. doi:10.1016/j.appet.2021.105128Malik FS, Liese AD , Reboussin BA, Sauder KA, Frongillo EA , et. al. Prevalence and Predictors of Household Food Insecurity and Supplemental Nutrition
Assistance Program Use in Youth and Young Adults With Diabetes: The SEARCH for Diabetes
in Youth Study . Diabetes Care . 2021;dc210790. doi:10.2337/dc21-0790Martínez-Jaikel T, Frongillo EA, Blake CE, Fram MS , Esquivel-Solís V. Reducing Both Food Insecurity and Excess Body Weight in Costa Rican Women: A Cluster
Randomized Trial. American Journal of Preventive Medicine. 2020. doi:10.1016/j.amepre.2019.11.021.
McRell AS, Fram MS, Frongillo EA . Adolescent-reported household food insecurity and adolescents’ poor mental and physical
health and food insufficiency in Kenya . Current Developments in Nutrition , 2022; nzac117, https://doi.org/10.1093/cdn/nzac117
Miller JD, Frongillo EA , Weke E, Burger R, Wekesa P, Sheira LA, Mocello AR, Bukusi E, Otieno P, Cohen CR,
Weiser SD, Young SL. Household water and food insecurity are positively associated with poor mental and
physical health among adults living with HIV in western Kenya. Journal of Nutrition . nxab030, 2021. doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxab030.
Murillo-Castillo KD, Frongillo EA , Corella-Madueño MA, Quizán-Plata T. Food Insecurity Was Associated with Lower Fruits and Vegetables Consumption but Not
with Overweight and Obesity in Children from Mexican Fishing Communities. Ecology of Food and Nutrition. November 2020:1-16. doi:10.1080/03670244.2020.1737042.
Nagata JM, Miller JD, Cohen CR, Frongillo EA , Weke E, Burger R, Wekesa P, Sheira LA, Mocello AR, Otieno P, Butler LM, Bukusi EA,
Weiser SD, Young SL. Water insecurity is associated with lack of viral suppression and greater odds of
AIDS-defining illnesses among adults with HIV in western Kenya. AIDS and Behavior 2021. org/10.1007/s10461-021-03410-w
Navarro SM, Tsai MM, Ritchie LD, Frongillo EA, Laraia BA, Pate RR , Au LE. Household Food Insecurity and Children's Physical Activity and Sedentary Behavior
in the United States: The Healthy Communities Study . Public Health Nutr . 2021;1-20. doi:10.1017/S1368980021002536
Nguyen HT, Frongillo EA, Blake CE, Shapiro CJ , Frith AL. Earlier and concurrent food insecurity are associated with suboptimal parenting in
early childhood. Journal of Nutrition doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxaa073, 2020.
Quizán-Plata T, Carrasco-Miranda JG, Murillo-Castillo KD, Corella-Madueño MAG, López-Teros
V, Frongillo EA . Determinants and consequences of food insecurity in artisanal fishing families from
the coastal community of Sonora, Mexico. Food and Nutrition Bulletin org/10.1177/0379572120965874, 2020
Reid LA , Mendoza JA, Merchant AT, Liese AD , et al. Household food insecurity is associated with diabetic ketoacidosis but not severe
hypoglycemia or glycemic control in youth and young adults with youth-onset type 2
diabetes . Pediatr Diabetes . 2022; 1- 9. doi:10.1111/pedi.13386Reid LA , Zheng S, Mendoza JA, Liese AD , et al. Household Food Insecurity and Fear of Hypoglycemia in Adolescents and Young Adults
With Diabetes and Parents of Youth With Diabetes . Diabetes Care . 2022;dc211807. doi:10.2337/dc21-1807Sharpe PA, Bell BA, Liese AD, Wilcox S , Stucker J, Hutto BE. Effects of a food hub initiative in a disadvantaged community: A quasi-experimental
evaluation. Health & Place. 2020;63:102341. doi:10.1016/j.healthplace.2020.102341.
Sheira LA, Frongillo EA , Hahn JA, Palar K, Riley ED, Wilson TE, Adedimeji A, Merenstein D, Cohen MH, Wentz
EL, Adimora AA, Ofotokun I, Metsch LR, Turan JM, Tien PC, Weiser SD. Relationship between food insecurity and smoking status among women living with and
at risk for HIV in the USA: A cohort study. BMJ Open. 0:e054903, 2021. doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2021-054903
Tan JY, Sheira L, Frongillo EA , Adimora A, Tien PC, Konkle-Parker D, Golub ET, Merenstein D, Levin S, Cohen M, Ofotokun
I, Fischl M, Rubin LH, Weiser SD. Food insecurity and neurocognitive function among women living with or at risk for
HIV in the United States. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition. org/10.1093/ajcn/nqaa209, 2020.
Tan JY, Sheira LA, Frongillo EA , Gustafson D, Sharma A, Merenstein D, Cohen MH, Golub E, Edmonds A, Ofotokun I, Fischl
M, Konkle-Parker D, Neilands T, Tien P, Weiser SD. Food insecurity and frailty among women with and without HIV in the United States:
A cross-sectional analysis. Journal of the International AIDS Society 24:e25751, 2021. doi.org/10.1002/jia2.25751
Weiser SD, Sheira LA, Palar K, Kushel M, Wilson TE, Adedimeji A, Merenstein D, Cohen
M, Turan JM, Metsch L, Adimora AA, Ofotokun I, Wentz E, Tien PC, Frongillo EA. Mechanisms from Food Insecurity to Worse HIV Treatment Outcomes in US Women Living
with HIV . AIDS Patient Care STDS . 2020. doi:10.1089/apc.2020.0009
Whittle HJ, Wolfe WR, Sheira LA, Frongillo EA , Palar K, Merenstein D, Wilson TE, Adedimeji A, Cohen MH, Wentz EL, Tien PC, Weiser
SD. Associations between food insecurity and psychotropic medication use among women living
with HIV in the United States. Epidemiology and Psychiatric Sciences. 2020;29. doi:10.1017/s2045796020000232.
Young SL, Bethancourt HJ, Ritter ZR, Frongillo EA . (2022). Estimating national, demographic, and socioeconomic disparities in water insecurity
experiences in low-income and middle-income countries in 2020–21: a cross-sectional,
observational study using nationally representative survey data . The Lancet Planetary Health. 6:11.
Young SL, Frongillo EA , Jamaluddine Z, Melgar-Quinonez H, Perez-Escamilla R, Ringler C, Rosinger A. Perspective: The importance of water security for ensuring food security, good nutrition,
and wellbeing . Advances in Nutrition. nmab003, 2021. doi.org/10.1093/advances/nmab003.
Young SL, Miller JD, Frongillo EA , Boateng GO, Jamaluddine Z, Neilands TB, on behalf of the HWISE Research Coordination
Network. Validity of a four-item household water insecurity experiences scale (HWISE-4) for
assessing water issues related to health and well-being. American Journal of Tropical Medicine & Hygiene doi.org/10.4269/ajtmh.20-0417, 2020.
Research Labs, Centers, & Organizations
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