Identifying nutritional insecurity among families in an urban pediatric practice

Food insecurity (FI) is defined as the state of being without reliable access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious foods. Although this definition includes nutritious foods, FI screening has largely focused on quantity and not the quality of food. Families with FI often depend on calorie-dense, nutrient-poor foods because of barriers related to cost and access. Therefore, families may experience nutritional insecurity (NI), defined as inconsistent access, availability, and affordability of food that promotes well-being, as a last safeguard against food scarcity (FS), which is defined as limited access to adequate food. This cross-sectional study aimed to (1) determine the prevalence of self-reported FS and NI in an urban pediatric practice and (2) evaluate the concordance between FS and NI.