Food insecurity links to poorer mental and physical health in Tasmania

By Vijay Kumar MalesuReviewed by Susha Cheriyedath, M.Sc.May 24 2026

A Tasmanian survey shows that food insecurity is associated with lower diet satisfaction and poorer self-rated health, highlighting how limited access to affordable, nutritious food can restrict choice, reduce well-being, and deepen health inequities.

Study: The Association Between Food Insecurity, Diet Satisfaction, Mental Health and Physical Health Among Australian Adults: A Cross-Sectional Survey. Image Credit: SeventyFour / Shutterstock

In a recent study published in the Journal of Human Nutrition and Dietetics, a group of researchers examined how food insecurity is associated with diet satisfaction, mental health, and physical health among adults residing in Tasmania, Australia.

Food Affordability and Diet Quality

What happens when people cannot reliably afford healthy food? In Australia, about one in eight households, or 13.2%, struggle to afford sufficient food due to rising living costs, unstable employment, and social inequality. This insecurity often forces people to buy cheaper, less nutritious foods, skip meals, or rely on food charities. These experiences can reduce the enjoyment of eating and negatively affect emotional and physical health.

Various studies show that food insecurity is associated with depression, anxiety, chronic disease, and poor diet quality, but Australian data are limited. Further research is needed to better understand these interconnected health effects.

Survey Methods

Researchers conducted a cross-sectional survey involving adults aged 18 years and older living in Tasmania, Australia, between December 2023 and January 2024.

Participants were recruited through The Tasmania Project, an ongoing research initiative examining social and health experiences among Tasmanian residents. Additional participants were reached through social media and community advertising, and the study was approved by the University of Tasmania Human Research Ethics Committee.

In this study, the 18-item United States Household Food Security Survey Module was used to determine whether households had experienced difficulties obtaining enough food in the previous 30 days.

Researchers grouped participants into food-secure, marginally food-insecure, moderately food-insecure, and severely food-insecure categories based on their responses. Participants rated their mental and physical health using a 5-point Likert scale from excellent to poor. Diet satisfaction was also assessed using a five-point scale that measured participants' satisfaction with their eating habits.

The study utilized IBM Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) Statistics software to analyze the survey. Logistic regression analyses were also performed to examine the association between food insecurity and health status, controlling for age, educational attainment, income, employment status, disability status, country of birth, and Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander identity.

Diet Satisfaction and Mental Health

The final analysis included 869 participants, most of whom were female and university educated. Nearly 30% faced food insecurity, underscoring that access to affordable, nutritious food remains a major issue even in a high-income country like Australia.

Nearly 20% of participants were dissatisfied with their food choices, and approximately one in three rated their mental well-being as fair or poor, while just over 25% rated their physical well-being as fair or poor.

Food insecurity showed the strongest relationship with diet dissatisfaction. People experiencing food insecurity were far more likely to feel unhappy with their eating habits compared to food-secure individuals.

Among food-secure participants, more than 80% reported being satisfied with their diet. In contrast, only about one-third of those 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 diets aligned with their personal or cultural preferences. After controlling for economic and social factors, food-insecure participants were still more than four times more likely to report dissatisfaction with their diet.

Self-rated mental health was also poorer as food insecurity became more severe. Half of food-secure participants reported having excellent or very good mental health, while about 10% of severely food-insecure participants indicated having excellent or very good mental health.

Roughly 68% of all severely food-insecure participants reported fair or poor mental health. Additionally, after controlling for demographic characteristics, participants who were experiencing food insecurity were more than twice as likely to report poor mental health as the participants who were food secure.

Researchers indicated that chronic stress about getting enough food, perceptions of social stigma due to food insecurity, uncertainty regarding future meals, and/or lack of resources to access food may help explain the association with poorer mental health, including emotional distress and reduced well-being.

With regard to participants’ physical health, people who experienced moderate or severe food insecurity were much more likely than food-secure people to report their physical health as either fair or poor. 

Although the study did not directly measure chronic disease outcomes or dietary intake, the authors noted that previous research links food insecurity with poorer diet quality and higher risks of chronic conditions. 

People experiencing food insecurity may rely more heavily on cheaper, energy-dense, nutrient-poor foods. As a result, these dietary qualities may be contributing factors to obesity, diabetes, heart disease, and diminishing overall health and wellness.

It was also observed that food insecurity was more common among younger adults, unemployed people, people with disabilities, lower-income households, and single-parent families. The study shows that structural and socioeconomic inequalities more strongly influence food insecurity, and that it is not just based on individual food choices.

Food Insecurity as a Public Health Issue

The study demonstrated that food insecurity among Australian adults residing in Tasmania is strongly linked to lower diet satisfaction and poorer mental and physical health. As food insecurity increases, the associated disadvantages appear to increase, suggesting how limited access to acceptable, affordable, nutritious, and culturally appropriate foods can negatively impact daily life.

These results suggest that food insecurity is not only a nutritional issue but also a public health and social issue. However, because the study was cross-sectional and relied on self-reported data from a non-representative sample that was mostly female, older, and university-educated, the findings cannot prove causality and may not apply to all Australians. 

Dietitians and other professionals in the health care system play an important 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 the community.

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