The food-insecurity obesity paradox: A resource scarcity hypothesis

•Mechanistic hypotheses explaining the food insecurity-obesity paradox do not exist.•A resource scarcity hypothesis is proposed to explain this paradox.•Implications of this theory for research and intervention are discussed.

Food insecurity is paradoxically associated with obesity in the United States. Current hypotheses to explain this phenomenon are descriptive regarding the low food security population's dietary and physical activity habits, but are not mechanistic. Herein it is proposed that a resource scarcity hypothesis may explain this paradox, such that fattening is a physiologically regulated response to threatened food supply that occurs specifically in low social status individuals. Evidence that this may be occurring, the implications for addressing the food insecurity-obesity paradox, and future areas of research, are reviewed and discussed.