More than 59 percent of college students are food insecure forcing researchers to speculate whether this is the cause of growing obesity rates among college students.
In an era obsessed with obesity, not very many studies are conducted on "food insecurities" and how some children are deprived of healthy food. A study conducted by Oregon university researchers found that a whopping 59 percent of college students from one college in the study are food insecure due to various factors including high costs, limited income, and fewer food or social support systems.
According to The United Nations' World Food Programme, food insecurity has been defined as inaccessibility to food of proper quality and in adequate quantity. Often, food insecurities have been linked to low-income groups, in households reliant on social assistance, reporting Aboriginal status, renting rather than owning their dwelling, and lone-parent female-led.
"Based on other research that's been done, we expected some amount of food concerns among college students," said Daniel López-Cevallos, associate director of research at OSU's Center for Latino/a Studies and Engagement in a press statement. "But it was shocking to find food insecurity of this severity. Several recent trends may be combining to cause this."
Some of the reasons behind this could be a combination of rising college costs, more low-income and first-generation students attending college, and changing demographic trends.
"For past generations, students living on a lean budget might have just considered it part of the college experience, a transitory thing," said Megan Patton-López, lead author of the study with Oregon's Benton County Health Department. "But rising costs of education are now affecting more people. And for many of these students who are coming from low-income families and attending college for the first time, this may be a continuation of food insecurity they've known before. It becomes a way of life, and they don't have as many resources to help them out."
Findings of the study were based on a survey conducted on 354 students at Western Oregon University
Researchers noted that some college students take up more than one job to make ends meet but still find it difficult to make ends meet. They fail to have access to healthy food at all times. Hence, employment alone is not enough to eradicate this problem.
Food insecurity is prevalent in 14.5 percent of American households but is four times higher among college students. One of the reasons for this could be because college education costs have steadily outpaced inflation, the cost of living and medical expenses.
Findings of this study may explain previous reports suggesting college students pack on the "freshman 15" weight gain, a phase associated with college students who gain up to 15 pounds in the first year of college
The weight gain is attributed to increased alcohol intake and the consumption of fat and carbohydrate-rich cafeteria-style food and fast food in university dormitories. This is probably because they are food insecure and don't have access to healthy food. But then again, there are studies that suggested it's more about choice of lifestyle than inaccessibility to the right kind of food.
"Students entering college may be making independent decisions about their diet, activity, and television viewing behaviors for the first time. New environmental and social factors may emerge during this time period to have a greater influence on their behavior," researchers of a 2007 study on college students and obesity wrote.
The percent of overweight and obese American college students increased from 27.4 percent in fall 2006 to 29.2 percent in fall 2011, according to the American College Health Association. The organization based its findings on body mass index, or BMI, which is calculated from an individual's self-reported height and weight, and is a standard indicator of obesity. A BMI in the range of 25 to 29.9 is considered overweight, while a BMI between 30 and 34.9 is obese.
