From US News & World Report: "The research so far shows that food insecurity is associated with many chronic diseases, including high blood pressure, diabetes and asthma," said Dr. Jason Nagata, assistant professor of pediatrics at the University of California, San Francisco School of Medicine.

A 2019 study in the Journal of General Internal Medicine found that nearly twice as many people had diabetes in the food-insecure group as those who were food-secure. The study, which looked at the health of nearly 15,000 U.S. adults ages 24-32, also found those who were food-insecure reported higher rates of hypertension, obesity and obstructive airway disease.

"These also are really important issues to address particularly because of the pandemic," Nagata said. "We know that some of the risk factors for severe illness from COVID-19 are the same medical conditions associated with food insecurity."

In a 2019 Journal of Adolescent Health study that looked at the same sample group, Nagata found food insecurity was associated with poor mental health and sleep disturbances.

"We think that part of the reason for that association are the chronic stressors that people living with food insecurity experience day to day, such as trying to get enough food to provide for themselves and their families," Nagata said.