ArticleBMC public health2026
Lived experiences of food insecurity and mental health: the role of socio-demographic inequalities.
Article in BMC public health, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
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Abstract
backgroundFood insecurity is strongly associated with mental health and also varies by demographic group but the role that socio-demography plays in shaping the relationship between food insecurity and mental health remains under-researched, particularly in the United Kingdom where food insecurity is an escalating public health emergency. This article explores how socio-demographic characteristics - specifically, income, parenting, and ethnicity - shape the lived experience of food insecurity and mental health in the UK.
methodsA diverse sample of 62 people living on a low income in England were interviewed three times over two years. Interviews addressed lived experiences of food insecurity and food aid, mental health, and experiences of discrimination. Data were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis.
resultsThe results suggest that the pressures of and inability to afford food may exacerbate the existing stress of navigating life on a low income, aggravating anxiety, and contributing to social exclusion and depression. Source of income shapes the nature of anxiety surrounding food, with people in receipt of welfare benefits reporting acute food insecurity and related anxiety, isolation and depression. Parents experienced heightened stress from their financial inability to provide food for their children, generating shame and precipitating parental and family isolation, which contributed to anxiety and depression. A complex matrix of structural and cultural factors increased the importance of food in the connection between financial insecurity and mental ill-health among minority ethnic participants. The high cost of 'traditional' foods created stress and necessitated dietary change, impacting self-identity and socialisation.
conclusionsOur findings underscore the interconnection of inequalities, food insecurity and mental health. Systemic action to address both food insecurity and mental ill-health is urgently needed; it is vital that policy and practice attends to the profound role of demographic inequalities in shaping lived experiences and outcomes.
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