UConn Study on Food Insecurity Ranks Redding Number 161 in Percent of Food Insecure Residents

The state-level decline in food insecurity in Connecticut is encouraging

The Zwick Center for Food and Resource Policy at the University of Connecticut released an updated report on food insecurity and obesity in Connecticut. The study was authored by Rebecca Boehm, Jiff Martin, Jaime Foster, and Rigoberto A. Lopez, and titled  "Food Insecurity and Obesity Incidence Across Connecticut".

Redding was ranked number 161 for the percent of residents reported as Food Insecure (higher rank = fewer residents food insecure) out of 170 towns in Connecticut listed on the report.  The report found that Redding had a 3% rate of Food Insecurity, and a 13.90% rate of Obesity.

The Connecticut weighted average for Obesity was 25.6%, and the weighted average for food insecurity was 12.5%. Overall, in 2015, 12.4% of Connecticut households reported not having sufficient funds in the last 12 months to purchase food. (These households are defined as food insecure in this report.)

A two page summary of the report is available here.

An Excerpt from the study:

“Ensuring that all Connecticut residents and households are food secure is a critical public health goal. Studies of low income populations in the U.S. find that food insecurity is associated with poorer diet quality, which has implications for health. At the same time, rates of obesity and diet-related chronic diseases in Connecticut have risen steadily since the late 1990s. Consequently, the primary objective of this report was to describe the prevalence of food insecurity and obesity across Connecticut’s diverse population and towns.”

In Connecticut, obesity rates have steadily increased since the early 2000s.

Other findings reported:

  • Food insecurity rates in Connecticut are higher for households with than without children under 18, with 14.8% of Connecticut households with children reporting food insecurity in the last 12 months compared to 11.0% of households without children.
  • In 2016, the adult obesity rate climbed to 26.0%, compared to 21.8% in 2010.
  • Rates of obesity (excluding overweight) also increased among Connecticut high school students, from 10.2% in 2009 to 12.3% in 2015.
  • The incidence of overweight and obesity was substantially more widespread across Connecticut’s towns than food insecurity.
  • Rates of food insecurity in Connecticut have remained relatively stable over the last five years.
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Submitted by Redding, CT

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