Food insecurity-obesity paradox for women in Atlantic Canada

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In each of the six focus groups, Papan notes, women expressed frustration about not having enough money for day-to-day living. “There is a feeling of being stuck ,” says Papan. “They have tough choices to make but there’s a sense that the choices are artificial. Women are choosing between basic needs and there is a real sense of no choice at all. They felt there was a real lack of control.”

As for recommendations for change, participants suggested more funding through social assistance and other programs, and that there needs to be a “better understanding of what it is like to be food insecure in Atlantic Canada.”  They suggested that “the Premier ‘should live in our shoes and see first-hand what it is like to live like this.’”

Read the full report, including researchers' conclusions, and view the webinar (broadcast December 7, 2012).

Jane Shulman is the Webinar Producer at the Canadian Women's Health Network. She is based in Montreal.

Focus group participants

* 27 women in the study from urban, rural and remote settings

* average age was 51-52

* 1/3 identified as lone mothers

* 81% had a child or children

* 15% less than high school

* 37% had some university, some vocational or some trade school

* 22% had some graduate or post-graduate work

* 2/3 reported annual household income of less than $15,000 per year, rest ranged from $15,000-$24,999

* 55% on social assistance; others identified being on pension, child tax benefit, EI, old age security and disability

* 85% did not do paid work

* 15% worked part time

* many self-identified as having some form of chronic disease