New findings link food insecurity and avoiding tap water.

For nearly 61 million Americans, tap water is either unavailable or untrusted.

New research shows for the first time that, in the United States, avoiding tap water is associated with a 20% to 30% increased likelihood of experiencing food insecurity, or the inability to reliably acquire the food one needs due to limited resources.

The researchers wanted to examine whether those experiencing water insecurity—the lack of reliable access to a sufficient amount of safe water—were more likely to experience food insecurity. They utilized nationally representative data on tap water avoidance, which has been shown in previous research to be a reliable substitute measure, or proxy, for water insecurity, to better understand the relationship between water insecurity and food insecurity in the United States.

“In the United States, policy makers and the general public often assume that people in our nation have plenty of water to drink, but over the last eight to 10 years, it has become increasingly clear that is not the case. Further, the reach of water problems may extend beyond water itself; clean water is also critical for nutrition,” says Asher Rosinger, assistant professor of biobehavioral health and anthropology at Penn State and lead researcher on this project.

“Crises like the one in Flint, Michigan, have shown that some people’s water is not safe,” he continues. “Meanwhile, news coverage of the Flint crisis led to increased awareness and surveillance of water problems in other communities as well as an increase in tap water avoidance for people who may have safe tap water.”

Food insecurity affects tens of millions of people domestically and two billion people worldwide. The experience of food insecurity can range from worrying about food, to compromising on food, to hunger.

While people are generally aware of the discomfort and harm associated with hunger, there may be less awareness that food insecurity is harmful even to people who never go hungry. Prior research has shown that individuals who experience food insecurity face a host of diet-related health problems like heart disease, obesity, and declines in memory, learning, and reasoning. Food insecurity is also associated with a broad range of psychological difficulties, including depression, stress, and anxiety.

Water insecurity, as demonstrated by tap water avoidance, may exacerbate food insecurity in multiple ways.

Tap water—when available and trusted—provides a readily available, zero-sugar, and cheap beverage. Prior research has shown that people who avoid tap water are more likely to drink sugary beverages, and that those people spend more on beverages than others.

Read the full article about tap water and food insecurity by Aaron Wagner at Futurity.