Food insecurity in kids linked to need for more mental health, substance use help: Ontario study

Toronto resident Rhonda Miller knows how difficult it can be to afford the basic necessities.

The 52-year-old lives in an apartment with her daughter and two granddaughters, who are nine and six.

Rising rent and food prices mean Miller has to sometimes choose between paying her bills or buying groceries.

"I leave the bills until I can afford it, because I have to get the food," she told CBC News.

The Millers rely on social assistance and income from some part-time work, but they say it's not enough to keep pace with the rising cost of living.

"It's really difficult because sometimes the food, what I want [my grandchildren] to eat, I can't afford it, because the budget," said Miller, noting she worries about the impact on their health.

A new study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) highlights the clinical impact a lack of access to affordable, healthy food can have on young people's mental health.

It found that in food-insecure households, kids could ultimately end up relying more on the health-care system to cope with mental health and substance use disorders. 

In Canada, the number of people facing food insecurity — meaning they can't afford an adequate diet — has significantly grown in recent years due high inflation and the fiscal constraints brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic.

"The more severe the food insecurity the household was experiencing, the more likely it was that children and adolescents would have a contact with health services," said Kelly Anderson, the study's lead author.

Anderson is an associate professor and Canada Research Chair in Public Mental Health Research at Western University in London, Ont. 

Past research on food insecurity has warned of the psychological distress it can cause kids, too. But to Anderson's knowledge, this study is the first to show how food insecurity can likely lead to clinical disorders that strain the system. 

Last year, 6.9 million Canadians, including 1.8 million children, faced food insecurity. In Ontario, public health data says that one in five children live in a household that struggles to put healthy food on the table. 

To analyze the link between food and mental health, researchers looked at data between 2005 and 2014 that was connected to a community health survey on a lack of access to healthy foods.