ArticleJournal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics2021
Students with Food Insecurity Are More Likely to Screen Positive for an Eating Disorder at a Large, Public University in the Midwest.
Article in Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 31 papers, 2 of them syntheses that pooled it.
What it found
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Who cites it
31 citing papers in PubMed, 2 syntheses or guidelines pooled it, 44 citations in OpenAlex.
- The use and misuse of the SCOFF screening measure over two decades: a systematic literature review.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2024Pooled it
- The prevalence and risk factors of screen-based disordered eating among university students: a global systematic review, meta-analysis, and meta-regression.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2022Pooled it
- Food Noise Among Healthcare Students and Healthcare Professionals in Al-Ahsa, Saudi Arabia: A Cross-Sectional Study.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Food Insecurity and Binge Eating: Exploring Reward-Based Eating, Psychological Distress, and Diet Quality as Underlying Mechanisms.Nutrients · 2026Article
- Article
- Understanding eating disorders in French undergraduate students: gender gaps, lifestyle factors, and barriers to care.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2026Article
- Food Insecurity in Individuals with Eating Disorders: A UK-Wide Survey of Impact, Help-Seeking, and Suggestions for Guidance.Nutrients · 2026Article
- 2025 Update to the Female Athlete Triad Coalition Consensus Statement Part 1: State of the Science and Introduction of a New Adolescent Model.Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) · 2026Review
- Food Insecurity Predicts Excessive Exercise, Dietary Restriction, Cognitive Restraint, and Purging, but Not Binge Eating, in College Students Across 3 Months.The International journal of eating disorders · 2025Article
- Article
- The prevalence of and the effect of global stressors on eating disorders among medical students.Frontiers in psychology · 2025Article
- Lack of association between food insecurity, eating disorders, and orthorexia nervosa: findings from a cross-sectional study in Lebanon.Frontiers in public health · 2025Article
- Persistent and Changing Food Insecurity Among Students at a Midwestern University is Associated With Behavioral and Mental Health Outcomes.American journal of health promotion : AJHP · 2024Article
- Methods for Assessing Health Outcomes Associated with Food Insecurity in the United States College Student Population: A Narrative Review.Advances in nutrition (Bethesda, Md.) · 2024Review
- Food Insecurity and Food Addiction in a Large, National Sample of Lower-Income Adults.Current developments in nutrition · 2023Article
- A 4pL item response theory examination of perceived stigma in the screening of eating disorders with the SCOFF among college students.Eating and weight disorders : EWD · 2023Article
- Food Insecurity during the Pandemic in South Korea: The Effects of University Students' Perceived Food Insecurity on Psychological Well-Being, Self-Efficacy, and Life Satisfaction.Foods (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Indicators of Eating Disorders in Sexually Abused Brazilian Adolescents: Family and School Contexts.Children (Basel, Switzerland) · 2023Article
- Is intuitive eating a privileged approach? Cross-sectional and longitudinal associations between food insecurity and intuitive eating.Public health nutrition · 2023Article
- Diet and Food and Nutrition Insecurity and Cardiometabolic Disease.Circulation research · 2023Review
Corrections and comments
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Authors and funding
3 authors at 1 institution in 1 country.
Funding
Abstract
backgroundCollege students experience a disproportionately high prevalence of both food insecurity and eating disorders. Food insecurity is associated with stress, irregular eating patterns, weight change, depression, and body dissatisfaction, making it a possible risk factor for the onset of eating disorders. However, the association between food insecurity and eating disorders among college students is not well understood.
objectiveThis study explored the relation between food insecurity and screening positive for an eating disorder among students attending a large, public Midwestern university.
designCross-sectional data were collected using an online survey administered from March through June 2018. PARTICIPANTS/
settingParticipants were recruited from a random sample of 2,000 students, with oversampling from the following groups: racial/ethnic minorities, first-generation students, and students from lower-income households. Of those sampled, 851 students (43%) responded. The final analytic sample comprised 804 students after excluding those with missing data.
main outcome measureThe validated 5-item Sick, Control, One stone, Fat, Food (SCOFF) questionnaire was used to screen for the presence of an eating disorder. STATISTICAL ANALYSES PERFORMED: Poisson regression was used to model prevalence ratios for positive SCOFF screens (≥2 affirmative responses) by levels of food security (ie, high, marginal, low, or very low). Models were adjusted for sex, age, race/ethnicity, degree type, financial aid, and first-generation student status.
resultsCompared to students with high food security, a higher prevalence of positive SCOFF screens was found among students with marginal food security (prevalence ratio [PR], 1.83, 95% CI 1.26 to 2.65; P = 0.001), low food security (PR 1.72, 95% CI 1.16 to 2.54; P = 0.007), and very low food security (PR 2.83, 95% CI 2.01 to 3.97; P < .0001).
conclusionsStudents with food insecurity at any level were more likely to screen positive for an eating disorder via the SCOFF questionnaire. Prospective studies are needed to determine whether food insecurity is a risk factor for the onset of eating disorders among college students.
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