524 - Food Insecurity and its Association with other Health Behaviors in a Pediatric Weight Management Clinic

Poster Number: 524
Publication Number: 524.239

Christine SanGiovanni, Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine, Charleston, SC, United States; Jacob Williams, Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine, Johns Island, SC, United States; Janet Carter, Medical University of South Carolina, Charleston, SC, United States; Elise Rodriguez, MUSC Children's Hospital, Charleston, SC, United States; Kathleen C. Head, Medical University of South Carolina College of Medicine, Charleston, SC, United States

Background: The prevalence of childhood obesity and food insecurity has increased with the COVID pandemic.

Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the prevalence of food insecurity of a pediatric weight management clinic and find other associated health behaviors.

Design/Methods: Patients 2-21 years old enrolled in a weight management program between November 2018 - April 2021 whose parents completed the validated Family Nutrition Physical Activity Screening Tool (FNPAST) and 2-item Food Security screening tool were included in the study. Parents completed surveys every 6 months while enrolled. The FNPAST survey questions have 4 choices which were divided into two groups: answers 1-3 which had at least one unhealthy practice concerning diet/physical activity, versus answer 4 which included recommended healthy practices. Chi-square analyses was performed comparing answers with report of food insecurity.

Results: There were 798 parents of children 2-21 years old who were enrolled in the program who completed the survey at least once. Patients were 53.4% female, 62.5% black, 28.6% white, and 2.1% Hispanic with an average age of 11.6. Prior to March 2020 (Covid pandemic), 806 surveys were completed, and 142 were completed after March 2020. A quarter of parents reported food insecurity prior to COVID compared to 22% during COVID (p=0.01). Also, 25% of parents reported having food insecurity at some point during the study period. Of those parents who reported food insecurity, they were more likely to report their family eating prepackaged foods and less fruits/vegetables (27% vs. 17%, p=0.003), their child drinking soda/sweetened drinks and less low fat milk (73% vs 62%, p=.003), not monitoring their child’s snack food consumption and using candy as a reward for good behavior (55% vs. 44%, p=0.00), their child watching TV or using computer for more than 4 hours each day (68% vs. 60%, p=0.03), rarely monitoring amount of TV their child watches and allowing child to have TV in bedroom (84% vs. 74%, p=0.00), and the parent and family rarely participating in physical activity (80% vs. 72%, p=0.01) compared to those parents who did not report food insecurity.Conclusion(s): In a population of patients enrolled in a weight management program prior to and during the COVID pandemic, parents reported lower rates of food insecurity with the pandemic. However, food insecurity was associated with unhealthy behaviors. In addition to helping families with food insecurity access healthier foods, it is important to counsel families on how to make healthy choices on a budget.