Tasmanian research shows food insecurity is associated with lower dietary satisfaction and poorer self-rated health, highlighting how limited access to affordable and nutritious food can limit choices, reduce well-being and deepen health inequalities.
Research: Associations between food insecurity, dietary satisfaction, mental health and physical health among Australian adults: A cross-sectional survey. Image credit: SeventyFour / Shutterstock
In a recent study published in Journal of Human Nutrition and DieteticsA group of researchers investigated how food insecurity is associated with food satisfaction, mental health, and physical health among adults living in Tasmania, Australia.
Food affordability and diet quality
What happens when people no longer have reliable access to healthy food? Roughly one in eight Australian households, or 13.2%, struggle to buy enough food due to rising costs of living, precarious employment and social inequality. This insecurity often forces people to buy cheap and less nutritious food, skip meals, or rely on food charities. These experiences can reduce the enjoyment of food and negatively impact mental and physical health.
Various studies have shown that food insecurity is associated with depression, anxiety, chronic disease and poor diet quality, but data from Australia is limited. Further research is needed to better understand these interrelated health effects.
Research method
Researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey of adults aged 18 and older living in Tasmania, Australia, from December 2023 to January 2024.
Participants were recruited through the Tasmania Project, an ongoing research initiative investigating the social and health experiences of Tasmanian residents. Additional participants were recruited through social media and community advertising, and the study was approved by the University of Tasmania’s Human Research Ethics Committee.
This study used the 18-item U.S. Household Food Security Survey module to determine whether households experienced difficulty obtaining enough food in the past 30 days.
Based on participants’ responses, researchers categorized participants into food secure, slightly food insecure, moderate food insecure, and severe food insecure categories. Participants rated their mental and physical health using a 5-point Likert scale ranging from excellent to poor. Dietary satisfaction was also assessed using a 5-point scale measuring participants’ satisfaction with their eating habits.
This study used IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) statistical software to analyze the survey. Logistic regression analyzes were also conducted to examine the association between food insecurity and health outcomes, adjusting for age, education, income, employment status, disability status, place of birth, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity.
Food satisfaction and mental health
The final analysis included 869 participants, most of whom were female and university educated. Nearly 30% faced food insecurity, highlighting that access to affordable and nutritious food remains a major issue, even in high-income countries like Australia.
Nearly 20% of participants were dissatisfied with their food choices, about one in three rated their mental well-being as fair or poor, and just over 25% rated their physical well-being as fair or poor.
Food insecurity showed the strongest relationship with dietary dissatisfaction. People experiencing food insecurity were much more likely to be dissatisfied with their diet than those who were food secure.
More than 80% of food secure participants reported being satisfied with their diet. In contrast, only about a third of people with severe food insecurity expressed satisfaction with what they ate.
Many participants facing severe food insecurity reported relying on less preferred foods or being unable to maintain dietary habits consistent with personal or cultural preferences. Even after controlling for economic and social factors, food insecure participants were still more than four times more likely to report being dissatisfied with their diet.
As food insecurity became more severe, self-rated mental health also worsened. Half of food secure participants reported good or very good mental health, while approximately 10% of severely food insecure participants reported good or very good mental health.
Approximately 68% of participants with severe food insecurity reported fair or poor mental health. Furthermore, after controlling for demographic characteristics, participants experiencing food insecurity were more than twice as likely to report poor mental health compared to food secure participants.
The researchers suggested that chronic stress around having enough food, perceived social stigma due to food insecurity, uncertainty about future diets, and/or lack of resources to obtain food may help explain the association with poorer mental health conditions, such as psychological distress and decreased well-being.
Regarding participants’ physical health, those who experienced moderate or severe food insecurity were much more likely to report their physical health as fair or poor than those who were food secure.
Although the study did not directly measure chronic disease outcomes or dietary intake, the authors noted that previous research has linked food insecurity to poorer diet quality and increased risk of chronic disease.
People experiencing food insecurity are more likely to rely on foods that are cheaper, more energy-rich, and less nutritious. As a result, the nature of these diets can contribute to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and poor overall health.
It was also observed that food insecurity is more common among young people, the unemployed, people with disabilities, low-income households, and single-parent households. This study shows that structural and socio-economic inequalities more strongly influence food insecurity and that it is not based solely on individual food choices.
Food insecurity as a public health issue
This study demonstrated that food insecurity among Australian adults living in Tasmania is strongly associated with lower dietary satisfaction and poorer mental and physical health. As food insecurity increases, so too does the associated disadvantage, suggesting how limited access to acceptable, affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate foods can negatively impact everyday life.
These results suggest that food insecurity is not only a nutritional problem, but also a public health and social problem. However, because this study was cross-sectional and relied on self-reported data from a non-representative sample of people who were primarily female, older, and university-educated, the results cannot prove causality and may not apply to all Australians.
Dietitians and other professionals in health systems play a critical role in identifying individuals at risk of food insecurity, providing individualized nutritional support, and advocating for policies that improve food affordability and equitable access to healthy foods for individuals in their communities.
Click here to download your PDF copy.
Reference magazines:
- Patterson, L., Seibright, A., Visentin, D., Lester, E., Murray, S., Kent, K. (2026). Associations between food insecurity, dietary satisfaction, mental health and physical health in Australian adults: A cross-sectional study. Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics. 39(3). Doi: 10.1111/jhn.70278, https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jhn.70278
