You Know When a Study is Bullsh#t When You Can’t Even Define The Variable

Let me introduce you to this study called Food Insecurity and Premature Mortality and Life Expectancy in the US. Here are the abstract conclusions:

Conclusions and Relevance  In this cohort study, although the association of food security and life expectancy varied across sex and racial and ethnic groups, overall, lower levels of food security were associated with a higher risk of premature mortality and a shorter life expectancy. The findings of this study highlight the potential importance of improving food security in promoting population health and health equity.

Remember, the term used to be called hunger? Not anymore. It didn’t fit the right narrative for the right people. So, what is food insecurity? Here is the definition online:

the condition of not having access to sufficient food, or food of an adequate quality, to meet one’s basic needs.

Who is defining sufficient? Who is defining the “quality”?

This is a never-ending rabbit hole. When thinking about this, you may visualize someone who is just skin and bones due to hunger and poor nutrition, right? Or, is it someone who lives on fast food orders and processed food who is obese? Is it someone who is forced to eat garbage food or just likes it no matter what you teach them?

Thank goodness this article came out in US News to clear up things. Here are some highlights:

• That means adults with very low food security lived 4.5 years less once they turned 50 than those with full food security, and researchers said about half of the lost life expectancy could be attributed to deaths from cardiovascular disease and cancer.
• Researchers also found “the association between levels of food security with premature mortality appeared to be stronger in women than men.”
• “In most cases, women have a higher level of decision-making power than men when it comes to food purchases and distribution within the family,” researchers noted. “This role in the family may cause more psychological burden in women when facing food insecurity, and some women may also sacrifice their own nutritional intake to meet the nutritional intake of the family as much as possible.”
• Researchers found adults with low levels of food security were more likely to be younger, Black or Hispanic, and lower-income, and were less likely to have health insurance coverage. They also were more likely to smoke, and had a higher prevalence of conditions including obesity, diabetes and cardiovascular disease

So, smoking is in there as an added variable? Huh. Could that be a factor?

This study is garbage. The variable (food insecurity) is too broad and now means nothing. The only answer is to now form some government policy based on these results that will do nothing.

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