Linking neighborhood characteristics to food insecurity in older adults: The role of perceived safety, social cohesion, and walkability
Open accessAbstract
Among the 14.6% of American households experiencing food insecurity, approximately 2 million are occupied by older adults. Food insecurity among older adults has been linked to poor health, lower cognitive function, and poor mental health outcomes. While evidence of the association between individual or household-level factors and food insecurity has been documented, the role of neighborhood-level factors is largely understudied. This study uses data from a representative sample of 1,870 New York City senior center participants in 2008 to investigate the relationship between three neighborhood-level factors (walkability, safety, and social cohesion) and food insecurity among the elderly. Issues relating to food security were measured by three separate outcome measures: whether the participant had a concern about having enough to eat this past month (concern about food security), whether the participant was unable to afford food during the past year (insufficient food intake related to financial resources), and whether the participant experienced hunger in the past year related to not being able to leave home (mobility-related food insufficiency). Unadjusted and adjusted logistic regression was performed for each measure of food insecurity. Results indicate that neighborhood walkability is an important correlate of mobility-related food insufficiency and concern about food insecurity, even after controlling the effects of other relevant factors.
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Chung et al. [45] found that people living in walkable communities had a lower risk of food insecurity due to physical limitations.
“Chung et al. [45] found that people living in walkable communities had a lower risk of food insecurity due to physical limitations.”
From Food Insecurity, Walkability, and Social Determinants of Health: A Cross-Sectional, County-Level Study of Associations with Maternal and Infant Mortality in the United States (2025) · cites this paper as [45]
The Mobility-Related Food Insufficiency results report that greater neighborhood walkability was associated with lower odds of hunger because participants could not leave home, including after adjustment. But the survey question did not establish that physical limitations caused their inability to leave home; physical disability was measured separately as a covariate. The study concerned New York City senior center participants, not people generally. (LLM, conf=0.84)
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“Chung et al. [45] found that people living in walkable communities had a lower risk of food insecurity due to physical limitations.”
- Authors
- Chung, W. T., Gallo, W. T., Giunta, N., Canavan, M. E., Parikh, N. S., & Fahs, M. C.
- Affiliations
- CUNY Graduate School of Public Health and Health Policy (US)
- City University of New York (US)
- Yale University (US)
- Corresponding author
- Gallo, William T.
- Venue
- Journal of Urban Health
- Published
- 2011-12-13
- Volume
- 89
- Issue
- 3
- Pages
- 407-418
- ISSN
- 0028-7091 (ISSN-L)
- 1099-3460
- 1468-2869
- PMC
- PMC3368047
- OpenAlex
- W2046599094
- Cited by
- 111
- References
- 32
- Citations by year
- 2026: 4 · 2025: 5 · 2024: 5 · 2023: 7 · 2022: 16 · 2021: 13 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 8 · 2017: 12 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 5 · 2014: 8 · 2013: 4 · 2012: 1
- FWCI
- 7.73
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Licence
- www.springer.com/tdm (tdm)
- Locations
- Journal of Urban Health (publishedVersion)
- Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Social Sciences › Health › Health disparities and outcomes
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Homelessness and Social Issues
- Keywords
- food insecurity, older adults, neighborhood characteristics, perceived safety, social cohesion, walkability, hunger, senior centers, New York City
- MeSH terms
- Aged, Aged, 80 and over, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Food Supply, Humans, Hunger, Male, Middle Aged, New York City, Surveys and Questionnaires, Residence Characteristics, Safety, Social Support, Walking, Mobility Limitation
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