Food Insecurity, Nutritional Deprivation, and Child Functioning in Rural China

Food insecurity is usually defined as limited or uncertain access to enough food due to financial resource constraints, or as inadequate food intake.  According to the Food and Agriculture Organization’s State of Food Insecurity in the World (1999), 800 million people were food insecure worldwide, and 164 million people in China suffered food insecurity in 1999.  The implications of food insecurity for children’s functioning are not yet well established, particularly in less-developed countries where the problem is likely to be most pronounced.  Food insecurity is related to the nutritional status of children, a topic about which much has been written in developing country contexts, but food insecurity is not synonymous with nutritional status.  Food insecurity has been linked via both nutritional and non-nutritional pathways to adverse outcomes in children.