Background: Living in a food-insecure or food insufficient household may increase risk for binge eating and obesity. Because racial disparities in food access, obesity, and access to treatment for disordered eating exist, it is important to examine these relationships in Black populations.
Methods: We conducted a secondary analysis of data from the National Survey of American Life (N = 4553), a nationally-representative sample of Black Americans, including African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans. Logistic regression was used to explore the association of food insufficiency with obesity and binge eating.
Results: In the total sample of Black Americans, the prevalence of food insufficiency was 10.9% (95% CI 10.0-11.8%). Food insufficiency was not significantly associated with obesity in Black Americans, but when associations were explored in analyses stratified by ethnicity and sex, food insufficiency significantly predicted an increased odds of obesity in Afro-Caribbeans (odds ratio [OR] = 1.47, 95% CI 1.01, 2.13). Individuals experiencing food insufficiency were more likely to report recurrent binge eating in the last 12 months (3% v 2%, P = 0.02) and a lifetime history of binge eating (6% v 3%, P = 0.004) compared to those who were food sufficient. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, food insufficiency was not significantly associated with recurrent binge eating in Black Americans or in sex- and ethnicity-stratified analyses.
Conclusion: The present study reveals a more complex relation between food insufficiency and binge eating than previously thought-although an association existed, it was attenuated by an array of sociodemographic factors. Our results also underscore the importance of considering ethnicity as different patterns emerged between African American and Afro-Caribbean participants.
Keywords: African Americans; Afro-Caribbeans; Binge eating; Black Americans; Food insecurity; Food insufficiency; Obesity.
Living in a food-insufficient household may increase risk for binge eating and obesity. Because we know very little about this relationship in Black Americans, we conducted a research study to examine the rates of food insufficiency, binge eating, and obesity in a sample of African Americans and Afro-Caribbeans. The prevalence of food insufficiency in the entire sample was 10.9%. In Afro-Caribbeans, individuals with food insufficiency were more likely to have obesity, than those who were food sufficient. We did not see this relationship in African Americans. Individuals with food insufficiency were more likely to report recurrent binge eating in the last 12 months, compared to those with food sufficiency. After adjusting for socio-demographic factors, however, food insufficiency was not significantly associated with recurrent binge eating.
© 2021. The Author(s).