Conclusions
Food insecurity was associated with higher odds of ever having sexual intercourse dose-dependently.
Methods
Data on food insecurity (hunger) and sexual behaviors from 205,296 adolescents from 53 countries. Associations were analyzed using meta-analysis.
Results
Overall, 16.0% of the adolescents ever had sexual intercourse and the prevalence of moderate and severe food insecurity was 44.9% and 6.2%, respectively. Moderate and severe food insecurity was associated with higher odds for sexual intercourse. Any food insecurity was significantly associated with condom nonuse at last sex. Conclusions: Food insecurity was associated with higher odds of ever having sexual intercourse dose-dependently.