Hilary Seligman MD MAS, January 24, 2016. Lead Scientist and Senior Medical Advisor, Feeding America; Associate Professor of Medicine and Epidemiology & Biostatistics, University of California San Francisco; Director, Food Policy, Health, and Hunger Research Program, UCSF’s Center for Vulnerable Populations at San Francisco General Hospital Food Insecurity, Health, and Health Care.
“Summary – This paper summarizes research on the connections between food insecurity and health. Food insecurity experienced at any time across the lifespan has an adverse impact of health. This adverse impact is often apparent as a cycle of food insecurity, coping mechanisms to protect against the sensation of hunger, and chronic disease. A growing body of evidence suggests that the detrimental impact of food insecurity on health has important consequences for U.S. health care expenditures. These costs are borne substantially by Medicare and Medicaid. Over the long term, prevention of food insecurity is likely to be more cost-effective than treating the consequences of food insecurity…”

• See also by Dr. Seligman – Food insecurity is associated with hypoglycemia and poor diabetes self-management in a low-income sample with diabetes.