Associations between Food Insecurity and Perceived Overall Health, Stress, and Counseling Utilization among a Representative Sample of the Active-Duty U.S. Military, 2020.

Abstract

Background: In 2020, approximately 10% of U.S. civilian households were food insecure compared to over 25% of households with active-duty U.S. military service members. Given the increased risk for food insecurity in the military, it's vital to investigate both the precursors and consequences of food insecurity in military populations.

Objective: To determine associations between food insecurity and perceived overall health, stress, and psychological counseling utilization in U.S. military service members.

Methods: Using weighted logistic regressions, we conducted secondary analyses of the 2020 Status of Forces Survey-Active Duty (unweighted n = 12,324), a nationally representative cross-sectional, probability-based survey of U.S. military service members.

Results: Approximately 25% of respondents were food insecure. Respondents with low (AOR: 1.34; 95% CI: 1.11-1.60) and very low food security (AOR: 1.66; 95% CI: 1.30-2.12) had significantly greater odds of current work-related stress compared to food secure respondents. Respondents with low (AOR: 1.48; 95% CI: 1.17-1.87) and very low food security (AOR: 1.86; 95% CI: 1.41-2.45) had lower self-perceived overall health when compared to food secure respondents. There was no association between food insecurity and psychological counseling utilization.

Conclusions: Although food insecure respondents had higher odds of stress and poorer perceptions of overall health, they had similar odds of utilizing counseling support, suggesting potential opportunities for specialized engagement. A broader approach is needed to encourage military leadership engagement with service members for counseling support and supplemental nutrition assistance resources.