Honors Theses
Date of Award
Spring 5-9-2024
Document Type
Undergraduate Thesis
Department
Nutrition and Hospitality Management
First Advisor
Melinda Valliant
Second Advisor
David Holben
Third Advisor
Kate Kellum
Relational Format
thesis
Abstract
Many American families struggle with food insecurity and do not have the economic capabilities to obtain a sufficient quantity of nutritious food. Childhood food insecurity is associated with negative health effects and altered relationships with food as an adult. Intuitive eating, a non-diet framework that emphasizes mindful eating, may attenuate these effects. It includes unconditional permission to eat, eating for physical rather than emotional reasons, reliance on hunger and satiety cues, and body-food choice congruence. Previous research has not examined whether childhood food insecurity can affect one’s ability to eat intuitively as an adult. The goal of this study was to measure the relationship between perceived childhood food insecurity to adult intuitive eating tendencies. A 33-question survey was randomly distributed to a convenience sample of students, faculty, and staff at the University of Mississippi. Questions included demographics, the Intuitive Eating Scale-2 survey, and a six-item short form of the U.S. Household Food Security Module. The food security module was modified to assess food insecurity between 0 and 17 years of age. Descriptive and bivariate analyses were conducted. A total of 331 participants (331/7,554; 4.38% response rate) completed the survey. Participants were primarily white (82.5%), female (67.1%), and between the ages of 18-24 (55%). There were 254 childhood food secure participants (76.7%) and 77 childhood food insecure participants (23.3%). Those who were food secure as a child had significantly higher overall intuitive eating scores (3.38±0.51) than those who were food insecure (3.23±0.52). The childhood food secure individuals had significantly higher body-food choice congruence scores (3.53±0.82) than food insecure individuals (3.26±0.88). There was a significant negative correlation between childhood food insecurity and intuitive eating (r2 = -0.125, p=.023), as well as childhood food insecurity and body-food choice congruence (r2= -0.186, p pb (323)= -0.127, p=.022] and body-food choice congruence scores [rpb (325)= -0.139, p=.012]. Childhood food insecurity may hinder adult intuitive eating and body-food choice congruence, necessitating assistance with making informed nutritional choices and eating mindfully by Registered Dietitians Nutritionists and Nutrition and Dietetics Technicians Registered.
Recommended Citation
Langley, Lily, "Childhood Food Insecurity as it relates to Adult Intuitive Eating Patterns" (2024). Honors Theses. 3072.
https://egrove.olemiss.edu/hon_thesis/3072
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