Interventions tackling children's food insecurity: A commentary on a systematic review

Household food security or consistent access to healthy food is determined by the ability to afford food, physical access to buy food, and the opportunity to prepare nutritious meals (Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs [DEFRA], 2021). According to government data from the financial year ending 2022, 7% of households in the UK do not consistently meet these three tests and are defined as food insecure (DEFRA, 2024).

Numerous factors can have an impact on household food security, including age, disability, ethnicity, and geographical location (DEFRA, 2021). In the UK, the North-East and West Midlands have the highest levels of food insecurity (10 and 9% respectively), and the East, South-west and London all have the lowest levels at 5% (DEFRA, 2024).

Food insecurity is a constant factor in the lives of low-income families in the UK even with initiatives such as free school meals (Shinwell and Defeyter, 2021). Negative effects associated with household food insecurity include child developmental risk, behavioural problems, reduction in school readiness, social, emotional and academic problems and adverse childhood experiences from infancy to adolescence (Shankar et al, 2017; de Oliveira, 2020; Jackson et al, 2021; Royer et al, 2022). Nutritionally, there is evidence for a strong and dose-responsive relationship between lower vegetable uptake and higher sugar intake among children experiencing food insecurity (Eicher-Miller et al, 2018). Also, there is a compromised intake of micronutrients such as vitamin D and magnesium (Jun et al, 2021). Transitioning between food security and food insecurity has a significant and lasting effect on cognitive function and externalising behaviour (Grineski et al, 2018; Gallegos et al, 2021). In addition, food insecurity is significantly associated with poorer mental health outcomes in both parents and children (Cain et al, 2022). The presence of food insecurity may also be associated with symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in children, although more research is needed to confirm the relationship (Lu et al, 2019).