Question

How does food insecurity relate to and lead to health disparities in the U.S.?

Do you feel the government food subsidy programs help to properly address the problem of health disparities or need to do more? Explain your answer...

Answer 1

Over the last 25 years, research has shown that social determinants of health have powerful effects on health outcomes, particularly food insecurity. Those who are food-insecure lack access to affordable and healthy foods, which has adverse effects on health and development. Maintaining a healthy diet becomes a subsidiary concern when there are multiple unmet social needs to address but social service programs offered by community partners can help address those unmet needs.

According to a recently released summary report by the Center on Budget and Policy Priorities, connecting low-income communities with nutritional programs like SNAP is linked to an increase in food security and better health outcomes.

The Health Related to Food Insecurity in America

Food insecurity is one of the most significant social determinants of health in the U.S.. Food insecurity refers to the lack of access to sufficient food for a healthy, active life and it affects a substantial portion of the population. As of 2016, 15.6 million Americans live in food-insecure houThis means that 15.6 million Americans are at-risk for developing chronic illnesses like heart disease or are unable to manage existing chronic illnesses. Extensive research has shown that a strong correlation exists between food insecurity and chronic health conditions. According to one study, food-insecure households spend about 45% more ($6,100) on medical care in a year than people in food-secure households ($4,200).

SNAP offers nutritional assistance to more than 43 million low-income families and individuals in the U.S and recipients are typically working people with children, senior citizens or disabled. For these recipients, SNAP is a critical part of their lives. Programs that offer nutritional assistance like SNAP help elevate Americans out of poverty and improve food security. These programs are essential for helping at-risk populations build a foundation of health and well-being

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2- . No. not prperly, Currently, the United States spends more than $50 billion per year on nutrition assistance programs for the US population. These include the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (formerly known as the Food Stamp Program); the National School Lunch Program; the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants, and Children; and others. Despite this comprehensive network of assistance, the United States has made no advancement toward the Healthy People 2010 goal of reducing food insecurity by half—to 6%. In fact, there has been little change in overall rates since annual measurement of household food insecurity began in 1995.

The persistence of food insecurity rates is more than just a health problem. With more than 12 million children living in households that are food insecure, sizable segments of the population are at risk for poor development and impaired performance in school, an outcome that can diminish national productivity. Food insecurity costs about $90 billion per year in increased medical care costs, lost educational attainment and worker productivity, and investment burden into the emergency food system.However, for many observers issues of economic comtetitiveness may be secondary. The existence of widespread food insecurity in a country with the world's largest economy—one that produces a cornucopia of food even to the point of grand-scale exports of surplus commodities—is morally reprehensible.

I suggest that the United States adopt a new approach to address food insecurity that openly and explicitly engages a human rights framework. A human rights framework repositions our understanding of food insecurity to acknowledge and actively address its social and economic determinants. It provides a venue for public participation in the food and nutrition discourse from people most affected by food insecurity. Perhaps most importantly, it provides a mechanism through which the general public can hold the US government accountable for making progress in ending food insecurity.

The human rights framework itself, of course, is not new. More than 3 generations ago, President Roosevelt emphasized the need to protect basic human freedoms—including “freedom from want.”15 It was his administration that launched development of the Charter of the United Nations, and, ultimately, the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.16 More than 60 years later, however, the United States is the only nation besides Australia that refuses to embrace the right to food, perhaps the most basic form of freedom from want.17 Other investigators have asked why this is so from an historical perspective, suggesting that United Nations representatives from the US government assume such a right contradicts constitutional law. Other interpretations are that poor understanding of concepts regarding rights prohibit the general acceptance of social and cultural rights, and that Congress lacks the political will to integrate the human right to food in its national agenda.

The United States already has a strong record of documenting food insecurity. Adopting key elements of the human rights framework is the obvious next step in improving human nutrition and well-being. The common definitions of food security and the right to food lend themselves to common strategies for implementation. We describe a rights-based approach to food and its key elements, consider barriers to adopting this approach, and suggest strategies to foster the adoption of a human rights framework to address food insecurity in the United States.