Access to nutritious food is not a guarantee, and in even the most flourishing countries—including the United States and Canada—people are often uncertain what and when their next meal may be. Households in developed nations such as these still report conditions of uncertain, insufficient, or inadequate food access also known as food insecurity. Even when food is plentiful, vulnerable individuals living in underserved populations may experience compromised eating patterns and food consumption based on limited, or absent, financial resources.

Discussions about public policies and societal goals aimed at reducing food insecurity provoked
a study led by Christopher Tait, PhD candidate at the University of Toronto Dalla Lana School of Public Health. The research examined whether limited or lack of access to food is an independent risk factor in the development of diabetes. “Policy responses such as the Ontario Basic Income Pilot may better target the economic factors at the root of food insecurity, but additional efforts are needed to meaningfully address the broader systemic factors that shape food environments, access and availability,” said Tait.

Senior author of the research publication, Laura Rosella, PhD, MHSc, adjunct scientist at the Institute for Clinical Evaluative Sciences (ICES) and site director at ICES, University of Toronto and assistant professor of epidemiology at the Dalla Lana School of Public Health, underscores that food insecurity is a stand-alone risk factor for the development of diabetes, and that adults living in food-insecure households have more than double the risk of developing type 2 diabetes.

“Even after adjusting for other factors that have also been linked to the development of diabetes like obesity, smoking and alcohol use, food insecurity was found to increase one’s risk of developing diabetes,” said Rosella.   

The research team points out that their study is the first to use a longitudinal population-based cohort to explore the association between food insecurity and risk of the development of type 2 diabetes using a validated diabetes registry. They further note that their study robustly establishes food insecurity as an independent risk factor for type 2 diabetes, thus building upon and strengthening the findings of previous cross-sectional studies. “Given the mounting evidence regarding adverse health risks associated with food insecurity in the Canadian population, allowing for its routine assessment to be optional is an incredible missed opportunity,” said Tait.

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