Food Insecurity Among College Students with and without Medical Disorders at a University in Appalachia

OBJECTIVE: This study compared severity of food insecurity, characteristics, and behaviors of college students with and without diagnosed medical disorders. DESIGN: Data were collected using a cross-sectional online questionnaire. Variables measured were food security status, disorders, coping strategies, and perceived barriers to food access. Descriptive and inferential statistics examined associations and compared groups. Statistical significance was p≤0.05. SETTING: Data were collected at Appalachian State University in North Carolina. PARTICIPANTS: The sample was 247 food insecure students, of whom 60% were females, 50% 3rd- and 4th-year students, and 75% whites. RESULTS: Medical disorders were reported by 67.2% of food insecure students, and a greater proportion of students with than without disorders experienced very low food security (63.3% vs. 43.2%, p=0.003). The most common disorder categories were psychiatric (40.5%) and gastrointestinal (31.6%). Characteristics of food insecure students with disorders included female gender, suboptimal academic performance, employed, off-campus residence. Coping strategies used by students with and without disorders, respectively, to improve food access, included brought food back to school after visiting family, friends, significant others (90.9% vs. 63.0%) and ate less healthy food so you could eat more (77.7% vs. 49.4%). Perceived barriers among students with disorders included feel overwhelmed making food choices (12.7%) and meal plan runs out (10.2%). Food insecure students with disorders made greater use of coping strategies and identified more perceived barriers. CONCLUSIONS: Food insecure students with disorders experienced more severe food deprivation and require multidimensional food assistance programs beyond those generally available on college campuses.