Beyond nutrition: hunger and its impact on the health of young Canadians.
OBJECTIVE
In a large Canadian study, we examined: (1) the prevalence of hunger due to an inadequate food supply at home; (2) relations between this hunger and a range of health outcomes, and; (3) contextual explanations for any observed associations.


METHODS
A cross-sectional survey was conducted of 25,912 students aged 11-15 years from 436 Canadian schools. Analyses were descriptive and also involved hierarchical logistic regression models.


RESULTS
Hunger was reported by 25 % of participants, with 4 % reporting this experience "often" or "always". Its prevalence was associated with socio-economic disadvantage and family-related factors, but not with whether or not a student had access to school-based food and nutrition programs. The consistency of hunger's associations with the health outcomes was remarkable. Relations between hunger and health were partially explained when models controlled for family practices, but not the socio-economic or school measures.


CONCLUSIONS
Societal responses to hunger certainly require the provision of food, but may also consider family contexts and basic essential elements of care that children need to thrive.
Department of Public Health Sciences, Queen's University, Carruthers Hall, Kingston, ON, K7L 3N6, Canada, will.pickett@queensu.ca.
William
W
Pickett
Valerie
V
Michaelson
Colleen
C
Davison
D000293:Adolescent; D058445:Bullying; D002170:Canada / Q000453:epidemiology; D002648:Child; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D015444:Exercise; D005260:Female; D005522:Food Services / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005523:Food Supply; D006801:Humans; D006815:Hunger; D008297:Male; D009752:Nutritional Status; D015995:Prevalence; D011602:Psychophysiologic Disorders / Q000453:epidemiology*; D012111:Residence Characteristics; D012574:Schools / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D014754:Violence / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*