The Multiple Contexts of Food Insecurity: Evaluating the Impact on Child Energy Balance

Lori Kowaleski-Jones, University of Utah

The impact of food insecurity on children is rapidly emerging research issue. At this point, research is only beginning to evaluate the determinants of food insecurity that may exist in the community. This paper breaks new ground by linking the impact of food insecurity to elementary school aged children’s energy balance. Using data from the Early Childhood Longitudinal Survey-Kindergarten Cohort, I address two research questions: 1) What is role of county food infrastructure on food insecurity? and 2) What is the impact of food insecurity on elementary school aged children’s energy balance? Models are estimated with HLM techniques that address the clustering of children in counties.