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\nThe White House hopes to end hunger by the end of the decade and reduce the burden of disease-related health issues, President Biden said during a Conference on Hunger, Nutrition, and Health<\/a>\u2014the first of its kind in more than 50 years<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \nThe announcement comes in the wake of historic high prices that are making it challenging for Americans to access the nutritious foods needed to stay healthy\u2014in August, food prices were 11.4% higher than they were in August 2021, the U.S. Department of Agriculture reported<\/a>.\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThe national strategy recognizes the critical role that nutrition plays in our health and our healthcare system, and it acknowledges that\u2026we have to give families the tools to keep them healthy,\u201d Biden said at the conference.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nIn 2021, about 13.5 million U.S. households<\/a> faced food insecurity, meaning they weren\u2019t able to get enough food or were unsure if they would be able to have access to the food they needed. Not only do these Americans face hunger as a health issue, but research has shown that lower food security is associated with a higher likelihood of some chronic diseases<\/a>, including cancer, asthma, and diabetes.\n<\/p>\n \nHere\u2019s what experts have to say about hunger and its connections to health, as well as who may be facing poor health as a result of limited access to nutritious foods, and in the face of inflated prices, whether Biden\u2019s plan is enough to tackle the issue.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nHunger and food insecurity are dangerous to our overall health, but the consequences of not eating a nutritious diet are much further reaching than an empty stomach. People who struggle to afford the food they need often end up purchasing food that\u2019s less nutritious, either because it\u2019s cheaper or because it\u2019s generally more filling.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cFilling your cart up with healthy foods, it typically does cost more than a cart full of highly processed foods,\u201d Erica Kenney, ScD, MPH<\/a>, assistant professor of public health nutrition at the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health, told Health<\/em>.\n<\/p>\n \nNot only are healthier foods more expensive in general, but fruits and vegetables are also more expensive per calorie, Kenney explained\u2014meaning you have to buy and consume more of them to feel full.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cIf your goal is really to make sure that you’re keeping yourself and your kids from feeling hungry, you might be opting for stuff that is cheaper per calorie,\u201d she said. \u201cYou’d have to buy a lot more fruits and vegetables to get the same kind of caloric load.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBecause more nutritious foods are often unaffordable for many people\u2014especially with heightened food prices due to inflation\u2014it\u2019s not unusual for consumers to make swaps for foods that are less nutritious in order to stretch their dollar a bit further. The result is poor nutrition that can lead to health risks<\/a>, including high blood pressure or obesity.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nIf a person is hungry or unsure whether they can feed themselves or their family, they may also experience high levels of stress which can create further health issues.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cPsychologically, those stresses might lead us to binge<\/a> on certain things when we’re able to, or to stock up on things that are storable that might be more energy dense,\u201d Sean Cash, PhD<\/a>, Bergstrom Foundation professor of global nutrition at the Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, told Health. <\/em>\u201cPhysiologically, there’s evidence to suggest that our bodies also react to these stresses and changes in ways that may be bad for our long term health.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nBecause having access to healthy foods is much more difficult for people who experience food insecurity, large health disparities often pop up. One example of this may be in death rates of those with diabetes based on location, Sagar Dugani, MD, PhD, MPH<\/a>, physician and assistant professor of medicine at the Mayo Clinic, explained.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nDr. Dugani published a study<\/a> in September, which found that between 1999 and 2018, the mortality rate for diabetes was much higher for people in rural areas than for people in urban areas. Furthermore, over the course of the last two decades, the rate of people dying from diabetes in rural areas has remained relatively unchanged, even though it has declined in urban areas.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nThe study didn\u2019t look at the causes behind this exactly, but Dr. Dugani said that nutrition and food insecurity likely plays a major role.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThere are a lot of [rural] counties that have food deserts or are food deserts, they have lower access to fresh vegetables, fresh fruits, they have lower access to quality food,\u201d Dr. Dugani told Health<\/em>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nA lack of access to healthy foods\u2014whether it be because of price or physical distance\u2014can make it harder for people to ward off obesity, which is a risk factor for type 2 diabetes<\/a>.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cThere’s been a focus on the phrase here\u2014[to] talk about nutrition security, not just food security. To think beyond calories,\u201d Cash said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nUnlike other things that people can cut back on during times of economic hardship, food is not one of them, Cash explained. When wages don\u2019t keep pace with the cost of food prices, it puts families in a situation where they have to buy cheaper, more filling food, in addition to possibly visiting charitable food organizations. But these organizations don\u2019t always <\/a>offer the most nutritious food either, Kenney said.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nWith limited options for individuals, Biden announced a partnership with philanthropic organizations and private companies to address the issue of food insecurity and the chronic disease that often follows. Over 100 different organizations<\/a> pledged a combined over $8 billion to fighting hunger with donations to charities or their own nutrition programs.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nThere are other efforts that the White House has implemented in recent years that could address food insecurity too, Biden added. His child tax credit<\/a>\u2014included in the 2021 American Rescue Plan\u2014somewhat eased the burden of buying groceries for families, and should be expanded, Biden argued. This could be doubly helpful, as many parents often skip out on meals themselves in order to provide for their kids<\/a>, Cash explained.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nBiden also pointed to updated allowances for SNAP benefits (food stamps)<\/a> which were meant to better reflect the cost of living in 2022. Those changes went into effect on Saturday.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \nAdditionally, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has proposed a change<\/a> to which foods can be labeled as healthy, in line with Biden\u2019s conference and the larger goal of \u201chelping consumers improve nutrition and dietary patterns to help reduce the burden of chronic disease and advance health equity.\u201d\n<\/p>\n \nThough Cash and Kenney say Biden\u2019s plan is certainly a step in the right direction, the notion that we can end food insecurity and the chronic health disparities it causes by the end of the decade seems out of reach.\u00a0\n<\/p>\n \n\u201cEvery little bit is going to help. I do think that in the long term, food insecurity and hunger are sort of just one symptom of what happens when folks are in poverty,\u201d Kenney said. \u201cIt\u2019s not going to go away if folks can\u2019t earn living wages.\u201d\n<\/p>\n
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