The relationship between food insecurity and obesity in university employees

Food insecurity is the lack of availability or access to healthy food due to limited resources or insufficient money. It is a nutritional factor associated with obesity in low-income individuals. This study was conducted among 142 employees of a private university between January 2020 and October 2020 to examine the relationship between food insecurity and obesity. Data was collected with Household Food Security Survey Module- Short Form (HFSSM-SF) and anthropometric measurements were recorded as well as socio-demographic characteristics including sex, age, educational and marital status, number of children, income level, and physical activity. 39.4% of the participants were overweight and 21.8% were obese. 64.1% of the individuals were food secure and 35.9% were food insecure. There was no statistically significant relationship between body mass index (BMI) classes and both food accessibility levels and food security status. (p >0.05). There was no statistically significant relationship between waist circumference categories and both food accessibility levels and food security status (p >0.05). There was a weakly significant positive relationship between the BMI and HFFSM-SF score (r: 0.219; p <0.01). There was no significant relationship between the HFFSM-SF score and waist circumference (cm) (p> 0,05). The findings of this study showed that there was no significant relationship between food insecurity and obesity. However, it was observed that as the BMI of the participants increased, the risk of access to food increased. In addition, food insecurity of employees was found to be substantial. It has utmost importance to carry out the necessary investigations and provide support to prevent the food insecurity experienced by the employees. Studies in larger populations are needed to better understand the level of food insecurity and the relationship between food insecurity and obesity. Keywords: food insecurity, obesity, BMI, waist circumference, HFSSM-SF