Nearly 20 percent of americans don't have enough to eat

https://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2020-09/pbrc-n2p092120.php

News Release 22-Sep-2020
Pennington Biomedical Research Center

More than 18 percent of U.S. adults do not know whether they will have enough to eat from day to day, and the numbers are worse for Hispanics, Blacks, people with obesity, and women, a new report shows.

“The percentage of adults with food insecurity ­– the lack of access to adequate food – more than doubled between 1999 and 2016,”  said Candice Myers, PhD, assistant professor at Pennington Biomedical Research Center and lead author of the article published in JAMA.  “The COVID-19 pandemic has undoubtedly worsened the situation.  The country may face long-term economic and health consequences unless we solve this public health crisis.”

•••••

Food insecurity has a range of health consequences, all of them negative, she said.  Obesity is key among them.

“Food insecurity and obesity are not mutually exclusive,” Dr. Myers said.  “Rather, these health issues are linked in such a way that a solution will require public policy that addresses both at the same time.”

•••••