(P13-071-24) Dietary Behaviors, Nutrition Insecurity and Chronic Disease Effects on Self-Perceptions of Health

Objectives: The objective was to identify sociodemographic, health, behavioral, and food environment explanatory variables for self-rated general health (SRH) perceptions in households at risk of or experiencing food insecurity.

Methods: Secondary analysis was performed on an existing dataset collected in 2021 that consisted of United States households at risk of or experiencing food insecurity. Logistic regression was used to identify significant explanatory variables for SRH (low = poor or fair vs high = good, very good, or excellent). Variables included sociodemographic (age, gender, annual household income, and food and nutrition security), health (presence of one or more chronic diseases), behavioral (fruit and vegetable intake and scratch-cooked, fast food, and processed meals), and food environment (utilization barriers to healthful meals, limited availability of foods, dietary and healthfulness choice, and shopping at dollar stores and convenience stores).

Results: Fifty-four percent of participants perceived their SRH to be low. For participants with low SRH, 66% had ≥1 chronic disease, 77% had food insecurity, and 43% had nutrition insecurity. For participants with high SRH, 32% had ≥1 chronic disease, 62% had food insecurity, and 25% had nutrition insecurity. Annual income, fruit and vegetable intake, and scratch-cooked meals were protective against low SRH. For every $1000/individual increase in annual income, odds of having low SRH decreased by 5%. For every 1 time/day increase in fruit and vegetable intake, odds of having low SRH decreased by 15% and for every 1 day/week increase in scratch-cooked meal consumption, odds of having low SRH decreased by 13%. Participants with low SRH were 1.8 and 4.2 times as likely to have nutrition insecurity and ≥1 chronic disease, respectively, as compared to participants with high SRH.

Conclusions: Perceptions of one’s general health are positively associated with healthful dietary behaviors and negatively associated with nutrition insecurity and chronic diseases. Thus, improving dietary behaviors of individuals at risk of or experiencing food insecurity may not only positively impact their nutritional status but also perceptions of their health.

Funding Sources: USDA ARS