Effects of Episodic Food Insecurity on Psychological and Physiological Responses in African American Women With Obesity (RESPONSES): Protocol for a Longitudinal Observational Cohort Study.

Background: Food insecurity is a risk factor for multiple chronic diseases, including obesity. Importantly, both food insecurity and obesity are more prevalent in African American women than in other groups. Furthermore, food insecurity is considered a cyclic phenomenon, with episodes of food adequacy (ie, enough food to eat) and food shortage (ie, not enough food to eat).