Associations of food insecurity with physical activity and screen time in youth

Although an association between food insecurity and children’s movement behavior has been posited, the current evidence remains inconsistent. Therefore, this study is to examine the associations of food insecurity with physical activity, and screen time among youth. Secondary analysis was performed on the 2021–2022 National Survey of Children’s Health, a nationally representative cross-sectional survey. A total of 59,946 child and adolescents aged 6–17 years was included in this study. A binary logistic regression model was assessed to examine the associations of food insecurity with physical activity and screen time, while controlling for demographic factors. Food insecurity was not significantly associated with meeting physical activity (OR = 0.95, 95% CI: 0.85–1.07, p = 0.383), but significantly associated with lower odds of sedentary behavior guideline adherence (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.60–0.73, p < 0.001) and combined guidelines adherence (OR = 0.78, 95% CI: 0.67–0.91, p = 0.002). Further analyses revealed that food insecurity was significantly associated with lower odds of screen time guideline adherence (OR = 0.66, 95% CI: 0.58–0.76, p < 0.001) among boys. Food insecurity was significantly associated with lower odds of meeting guidelines of physical activity (OR = 0.81, 95% CI: 0.67–0.98, p = 0.026), screen time (OR = 0.67, 95% CI: 0.58–0.77, p < 0.001), and combined guidelines (OR = 0.74, 95% CI: 0.58–0.94, p = 0.014) among girls. The findings suggest that food insecurity is associated with low odds of screen time adherence, as well as adherings to combined physical activity and screen time guidelines among U.S. youth aged 6–17 years.