Research
Energy balance
Food insecurity is an independent risk factor for the development of type 2 diabetes, with food-insecure adults being 2-3 times more likely to have diabetes than food-secure adults.
Food insecurity itself increases your risk of developing type 2 diabetes, independent of other lifestyle factors. This is because limited budgets often force the purchase of cheaper, higher-calorie foods that contribute to weight gain. Addressing food access is a critical part of diabetes prevention.
GoodSupportsHIGH confidence
Food-insecure adults are two to three times more likely to have diabetes than adults who are food-secure, even after controlling for important risk factors such as income, employment status, physical measures, and lifestyle factors
Why this rating
Supported by large-scale longitudinal surveys (NHANES), though the paper notes more studies are needed.
Source
The Intersection between Food Insecurity and Diabetes: A Review
Enza Gucciardi et al. · Current Nutrition Reports · 2014
DOI 10.1007/s13668-014-0104-4
narrative_reviewCited 286×
Read the paper DOI resolved against Crossref · corpus check 2026-06-10
More from this paper
- Food insecurity in diabetic patients significantly increases the risk of hypoglycemia and poor glycemic control (higher A1c) due to the trade-off between purchasing food and purchasing diabetes medications/supplies.Good
- Targeted diabetes self-management education improves glycemic control (A1c) and self-efficacy in food-insecure individuals, often more significantly than in food-secure individuals.Moderate
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- Achieving type 2 diabetes remission requires significant weight loss (≥15 kg) via major caloric restriction, independent of macronutrient composition.Strong
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