Introduction: Food insecurity exists whenever people are unable to access sufficient
food at all times for an active and healthy life. University students are a potentially
vulnerable group of people to face food insecurity. This study aimed to identify the
prevalence and determinants of food insecurity among a population of university
students in Kuantan, in the state of Pahang. Methods: Food security status was
identified using the United States Adult Food Security Survey Module (USAFSSM).
Factors, which include demographic background, spending expenditure pattern
and time constraints, were assessed. A total of 316 students were selected through
stratified random sampling throughout six faculties of the International Islamic
University Malaysia, of whom 307 successfully completed the survey. Results:
The result shows that 54.4% of the students were experiencing food insecurity,
from which 32.9% were sub-categorised as low food security and 21.5% as very low
food security. Food insecurity was found to be significantly associated with time
constraints (p