Nutritional Impacts of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program

The Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) is an entitlement food assistance and nutrition program funded by the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food and Nutrition Service (FNS). SNAP was created to eradicate hunger in the United States. This study investigated the nutritional impact of participation in SNAP.;Data for this study were obtained from the 1999–2004 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) database. The following variables were examined in this study: dietary intakes of protein, calcium, iron, vitamin C and folate of participants and non-participants of the SNAP. In addition, biochemical levels of albumin, bone alkaline phosphatase, ferritin, iron, serum and red blood cell (RBC) folate, total protein, transferrin saturation, total cholesterol, HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, triglyceride, systolic and diastolic blood pressure and glucose were investigated, as well as the body measures (body mass index and waist circumference) and food security of participants and non-participants of the SNAP. SNAP participants and non-participants were matched for age, gender and ethnicity.;Statistical analysis of the data was performed using SUDAAN, which is the recommended software to use for the analysis of NHANES data. Statistical procedures included t-tests and chi-square tests. The level of significance used was less than five percent.;Significantly lower dietary intakes of protein (p=0.01) and calcium (p=0.04) were found in SNAP participants. SNAP participants had lower dietary intakes of iron and folate compared to SNAP non-participants. Significantly higher levels of LDL-cholesterol were found in SNAP participants that could lead to heart disease. Significantly lower HDL-cholesterol levels were found in SNAP participants (p=0.00). Higher HDL-cholesterol levels are recommended to protect against heart disease. Significantly higher levels of BMI (p=0.01) and waist circumference (p=0.02) were found in SNAP participants. High BMI and waist circumferences can lead to the development of chronic diseases such as type 2 diabetes, dyslipidemia, hypertension and cardiovascular disease.;Recommendations included providing guidelines for food purchases to SNAP participants to prevent the inadequate intakes of key nutrients (calcium, iron and folate), add additional fruit and vegetable benefits similar to other USDA nutrition programs and redefining the recertification and/or eligibility process by requiring participants to meet certain guidelines (i.e., nutrition education classes and yearly doctor visits).