More than 23 percent went hungry in the U.S. in 2010

PHILADELPHIA, Aug. 11 (UPI) -- More than 23 percent of U.S. households with children did not have enough money to buy food in 2010, an analysis by the Food Research and Action Center found.

Dr. Mariana Chilton, an associate professor and director of the Center for Hunger-Free Communities in the Drexel University School of Public Health, says 23.4 percent of households with children said they were unable to afford enough food in 2010. The food hardship rate for households without children was 14.9 percent, the report says.

Food hardship rates can vary among areas. For example, in 2009-2010, 21.6 percent of households with children in Pennsylvania said they were unable to afford enough food. In the 1st Congressional District in Pennsylvania, which borders New Jersey, 49.6 percent of households with children experienced food hardship in 2008-2010.

"The impact of such extreme food hardship will have permanent consequences for the health, development and future potential of the nation's children," Chilton says in a statement. "Our research has shown that children in food insecure households are at greater risk for health problems, impaired cognitive development, behavioral and emotional problems, and are more likely to have trouble in school and the workforce."