ArticlePloS one2020
The hunger-obesity paradox: Exploring food banking system characteristics and obesity inequities among food-insecure pantry clients.
Article in PloS one, 2020. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 14 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
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The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
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Who cites it
14 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 30 citations in OpenAlex.
- The lived experience of food insecurity among adults with obesity: a quantitative and qualitative systematic review.Journal of public health (Oxford, England) · 2024Pooled it
- Dietary Intake and Nutritional Status among Refugees in Host Countries: A Systematic Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2022Pooled it
- The impact of online ordering on food security in a food pantry system in New York City.Translational behavioral medicine · 2025Trial
- A pilot randomized controlled trial comparing nutritious meal kits and no-prep meals to improve food security and diet quality among food pantry clients.BMC public health · 2023Trial
- Exploring the Availability and Accessibility of Halal Food Aid in New York City: A Multimethod Study.Journal of nutrition education and behavior · 2026Article
- Identifying Synergistic Mechanisms of Community-Led Policy, Systems, and Environmental Change for Childhood Obesity Prevention in the Multi-Site Catalyzing Communities Initiative.Journal of urban health : bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine · 2026Article
- Prevalence and correlates of malnutrition among children aged 6-59 months in the rural areas of Embu County, Kenya: a cross-sectional study.The Pan African medical journal · 2026Article
- Association of food insecurity with diet quality and anthropometric measurements among American elderly: results from 2017 to 2020 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.The British journal of nutrition · 2025Article
- Using system dynamics mapping to explore synergy in an equity-focused obesity prevention framework.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Internalized Weight Stigma and Weight Discrimination: Associations with Quality of Life and Psychosocial Impairment in a Sample Living with Food Insecurity.International journal of environmental research and public health · 2023Article
- Food Pantry Clients' Needs, Preferences, and Recommendations for Food Pantries: A Qualitative Study.Journal of hunger & environmental nutrition · 2023Article
- Ambient struggling: food, chronic disease, and spatial isolation among the urban poor.Agriculture and human values · 2022Article
- A mixed-method systematic review and meta-analysis of the influences of food environments and food insecurity on obesity in high-income countries.Food science & nutrition · 2022Article
- Approaches for Implementing Healthy Food Interventions in Settings With Limited Resources: A Case Study of Sodium Reduction Interventions in Emergency Food Programs Addressing Food Insecurity.American journal of health promotion : AJHP · 2022Article
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
6 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
purposeHeightened obesity risk among food-insecure food pantry clients is a health equity issue because the co-occurrence of obesity and hunger is deeply-rooted in systematic social disadvantage and historical oppression. This qualitative study examined key stakeholders' perspectives of the relationship between the U.S. food banking system and obesity disparities among food insecure clients.
methodsWe conducted in-depth, semi-structured interviews with 10 key stakeholders (e.g., food bank director, food bank board member, advocate) who are familiar with food bank operations. Data were transcribed verbatim, coded in NVivo [v11], and analyzed using thematic analysis.
resultsMultiple themes emerged drawing linkages between structural characteristics of the food banking system and disparities in the dual burden of food insecurity and obesity: [a] access to unhealthy food from donors; [b] federal emergency food policy and programming; [c] state-level emergency food policy and programming; [d] geography-based risk profiles; and [e] inadequate food supply versus client need. Interviewees also identified social challenges between system leaders and clients that maintain disparities in obesity risk among individuals with very low food security including: [a] media representation and stereotypes about food pantry clients; [b] mistrust in communities of color; [c] lack of inclusion/representation among food bank system leaders; and [d] access to information.
conclusionFuture efforts to alleviate obesity inequities among clients chronically burdened by food insecurity, especially among certain subpopulations of clients, should prioritize policy, systems, and environmental strategies to overcome these structural and social challenges within the food banking system.
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Registered trials
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