Food Insecurity Mediates the Relationship between Poverty and Mental Health

ABSTRACT

Poverty and food insecurity have been related to lower cognitive functioning and psychological distress. However, how these interrelated concepts interact with each other remains unexamined. We examine how food insecurity mediates the relationship between a) poverty and cognitive capacity, and b) poverty and psychological distress. Four hundred and nineteen adults participated in a cross-sectional survey on household food insecurity. Mediation analysis revealed that the indirect effects of poverty on both cognitive capacity and psychological distress via food insecurity were significant. Future interventions aiming to alleviate poverty and improving mental health, can therefore consider including food security strategies as a potential action lever.

KEYWORDS:

• Cognitive capacity
• food insecurity
• poverty
• psychological distress

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Correction Statement

This article has been republished with minor changes. These changes do not impact the academic content of the article.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by a research grant awarded to the authors by The Food Bank, Singapore.