The struggle is real: A systematic review of food insecurity on postsecondary education campuses
Open accessAbstract
Background Numerous international studies have examined cross-sectional correlates of food insecurity (FI) among postsecondary education students. Research is needed to synthesize the findings of this work to support vulnerable students.Objective To systematically review peer-reviewed and gray literature to assess the prevalence of FI on postsecondary education institutions, as well as factors related to FI among students and suggested/practiced solutions.Design Systematic literature review. Medline, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases were searched for peer-reviewed literature for FI research; a Google search (Google Inc) was conducted to obtain gray literature on FI among postsecondary education students.Participants/setting Undergraduate and graduate students at postsecondary institutions of higher education.Main outcome measures Measures included prevalence of FI; sociodemographic, health, and academic factors related to FI; and solutions to address FI on postsecondary institutions.Results Seventeen peer-reviewed studies and 41 sources of gray literature were identified (out of 11,476 titles). All studies were cross-sectional. Rates of FI were high among students, with average rates across the gray and peer-reviewed literature of 35% and 42%, respectively. FI was consistently associated with financial independence, poor health, and adverse academic outcomes. Suggested solutions to address food security among postsecondary institutions addressed all areas of the socioecologic model, but the solutions most practiced included those in the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and institutional levels.Conclusions FI is a major public health problem among postsecondary education students. Studies are needed to assess the long-term influence of FI among this vulnerable population. More research is needed on the effectiveness of FI interventions.
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Food insecurity among post-secondary students is linked to dietary compromises, poorer mental health, poorer overall health, and poorer academic achievement.
“Understanding the scale and severity of food insecurity among post-secondary students in Canada is important given studies linking this condition to dietary compromises [21], poorer mental health [12, 13, 19, 22], poorer overall health [10, 12, 13], and poorer academic achievement [10, 12, 13, 21] among students.”
From Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of food insecurity among post-secondary students and non-students of similar age in Canada (2023) · cites this paper as [10]
Financial independence from parents is highly correlated with student food insecurity in other research.
“a variable highly correlated with student food insecurity in other research [10].”
From Prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of food insecurity among post-secondary students and non-students of similar age in Canada (2023) · cites this paper as [10]
A 2017 systematic review reported an average rate of 42% of college students experiencing food insecurity, which is three times higher than the rate for general U.S. households.
“A 2017 systematic review of food insecurity among postsecondary students reported an average rate of 42% of college students experiencing food insecurity [11], which is three times higher than the rate for general U.S. households [12].”
From Why Are Hungry College Students Not Seeking Help? Predictors of and Barriers to Using an On-Campus Food Pantry (2018) · cites this paper as [11]
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- Authors
- Bruening, M., Argo, K., Payne-Sturges, D., & Laska, M. N.
- Affiliations
- University of Minnesota (US)
- Corresponding author
- Bruening, Meg
- Venue
- Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
- Publisher
- Elsevier BV
- Published
- 2017-11
- Volume
- 117
- Issue
- 11
- Pages
- 1767-1791
- ISSN
- 2212-2672 (ISSN-L)
- PMC
- PMC6901286
- OpenAlex
- W2738408000
- Cited by
- 434
- References
- 52
- Citations by year
- 2026: 44 · 2025: 54 · 2024: 49 · 2023: 70 · 2022: 64 · 2021: 45 · 2020: 49 · 2019: 36 · 2018: 22
- FWCI
- 5.15
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- bronze
- doi.org
- Locations
- Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institutes of Health (DP5OD017910)
- Topics
- Health Sciences › Health Professions › General Health Professions › Food Security and Health in Diverse Populations
- Life Sciences › Agricultural and Biological Sciences › General Agricultural and Biological Sciences › Food Security and Socioeconomic Dynamics
- Social Sciences › Education › Higher Education Research Studies
- Keywords
- food insecurity, postsecondary students, university students, food insecurity prevalence, financial independence, student health, educational outcomes, vulnerable populations
- MeSH terms
- Adolescent, Adult, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Food Supply, Health Status, Humans, Male, Peer Review, Risk Factors, Socioeconomic Factors, Students, Young Adult
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