Food Insecurity and Cardiovascular Disease

Abstract

Cardiovascular disease (CVD) has been shown to be more prominent in individuals who are food insecure as compared to those who are food secure (Chang et al., 2021). According to the U.S. Department of Agriculture in 2021, food insecurity is defined as living without reliable and consistent access to a sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food for every person in a household to live an active, healthy life. This can be a temporary situation for a household or can be continuous throughout the year. More than 38 million people, including 12 million children, experience food insecurity in the United States (Martin, 2021). Mayo Clinic defines heart disease as a range of conditions affecting the heart including blood vessel disease (coronary artery disease), heart rhythm problems, congenital heart defects, heart valve disease, disease of the heart muscle, and heart infection. The purpose of this Evidence-Based Practice review is to examine how being food insecure can directly impact the risk of developing or worsening CVD in adults, as compared to individuals who are food secure. Accordingly, “among the 18,442 (8.2%) adults with atherosclerosis [a type of cardiovascular disease], about 1 in 7 reported being food insecure. Adults with atherosclerosis are more likely to earn a low income and experience food insecurity than those without the condition” (Chang et al., 2021). This research is important because CVD affects a significant proportion of the population, and finding ways to decrease the onset and mortality of CVD is key.