When Food Becomes Medicine: The Hidden Health Crisis of Food Insecurity

A teenager at Alder Hey reportedly resorted to eating emergency glucose because there was no food at home. The case highlights the devastating intersection of poverty, nutrition and health in the UK.

Image credit: Isabella Dornbrach from Pixabay

For most people, food is a routine part of daily life, providing the energy needed to study, work, socialise and get through the day. But for families struggling to afford food, eating regularly can become a challenge, with consequences that extend far beyond an empty stomach.

A recent report by the Liverpool Echo described a teenager receiving treatment at Alder Hey Children’s Hospital who was so hungry that he ate the emergency glucose prescribed to help save his life. His family reportedly could not afford enough food at home. The case was highlighted by consultant Ian Sinha as an example of the harm caused by food insecurity.

The story is alarming, not simply because a young person went hungry, but because the lack of food was combined with an existing medical need. It raises a difficult question: what happens when someone cannot reliably access the food they need to stay healthy?

What is food insecurity?

Food insecurity describes a situation in which people cannot reliably obtain sufficient  nutritious food. It can mean skipping meals, reducing portion sizes, relying on cheaper foods with limited nutritional value or worrying about whether there will be enough to eat later in the week. A household may have something to eat everyday while still struggling to afford a balanced diet or enough food to meet everyone’s needs.

According to the Government’s Food Security Report 2024, 18% of households with children experienced food insecurity in June 2024, based on research by the Food Foundation. The figures demonstrate that food insecurity is not an isolated issue affecting only a small number of families. For many households, the challenge is balancing the cost of food with other essential expenses, including housing, heating, transport and childcare.

The health consequences of going without

Food is more than a source of energy. The body relies on nutrients to maintain organs, repair tissues, support the immune system and enable the brain to function. 

For children and teenagers, adequate nutrition is particularly important. They are still growing and developing, meaning prolonged nutritional deficiencies can affect physical development, concentration and general wellbeing. When children regularly miss meals or have limited access to nutritious food, they may struggle to concentrate at school, feel tired or find it harder to participate in everyday activities.

Food insecurity can also make managing existing medical conditions more difficult. Some conditions require regular meals, particular dietary considerations or careful coordination between food and medication. When meals are unpredictable, following a treatment plan can become more challenging.  

For people with diabetes, for example, managing blood glucose is an essential part of staying well. If blood glucose drops too low, a person can experience hypoglycaemia. Fast-acting carbohydrates, including glucose tablets or glucose gel, are commonly used to treat hypoglycaemia. These products have a specific medical purpose: they provide sugar that can be absorbed quickly to raise blood glucose.

Image credit: Stanias from Pixabay

These problems can reinforce one another. Poor health may make it harder for a parent to work, while financial insecurity can reduce a family’s ability to access the food needed to stay healthy. Over time, the consequences can affect education, wellbeing and quality of life.

Why can’t families afford to eat?

It can be tempting to think that food insecurity can be solved simply by encouraging people to budget more carefully or choose cheaper ingredients. However, this overlooks the wider economic pressures that shape what households can afford. 

Food prices, housing costs, energy bills and the level of household income all influence whether a family can consistently access nutritious meals. Even when cheaper alternatives are available, they may not meet every nutritional need or be practical for households with limited cooking facilities, time, or transport.

The Food Foundation’s research into dietary inequalities highlighted how difficult it can be for households on the lowest incomes to afford a healthy diet. Its analysis also found substantial differences in food insecurity between households with different financial circumstances.

Children have limited control over these circumstances. They generally cannot increase the household income, choose where the family lives, or determine how much money is available for food. Yet they may experience the physical and emotional consequences of those decisions more directly than anyone else.

From emergency support to lasting change

Food banks, community food projects and free school meals can provide important help to families experiencing hardship. They may offer immediate relief when cupboards are empty and household budgets have run out. However, emergency support cannot replace the need for long-term solutions that make food consistently affordable and accessible when the underlying causes of that insecurity remain.

In September, the Right to Food UK Commission published its final report, setting out a roadmap intended to achieve food security for everyone by 2035. The report argues that hunger is a part of a wider affordability crisis and calls for action to address the circumstances that leave people unable to obtain sufficient food.

The teenager’s reported experience at Alder Hey is a reminder that poverty and health are closely connected. Medical treatment can help people manage illness, but its benefits may be undermined when they cannot reliably access the food needed to support their health.

Food insecurity is not simply about having an empty fridge. It is about the effect that financial hardship can have on the body, the mind and the opportunities available to young people. No child should have to navigate hunger alongside a medical condition, and no family should have to choose between food and other essentials. 

Addressing the problem requires more than emergency food provisions, it means confronting the financial and social circumstances that make hunger possible in the first place. Support needs to be accessible without making people feel that they have failed. Food is a basic human necessity, and asking for help to obtain it should not carry a stigma.

Shannon is a Biomedical Sciences graduate from the University of York and Managing Editor of WILD Magazine. She is passionate about making science accessible to everyone, with particular interests in sustainability, wildlife and how science shapes everyday life. Details of her work and interests can be found on LinkedIn.