About 33.8 million U.S. adults lacked consistent, dependable access to adequate food and water in 2021, according to federal data released Thursday.

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported that 5.9% of adults 18 and older were in families experiencing food insecurity in the 30 days before completing a government survey, with household undernourishment higher among women (6.5%) than men (5.2%). Adults with disabilities (15%) responding to the CDC questionnaire were three times more likely to live in hunger than adults without disabilities (5%).

“Since access to sufficient and nutritious food is a key social determinant of health, disparities in family food insecurity may contribute to inequalities in health status,” CDC statistician Julie Weeks, the report’s author, told The Washington Times.

The 33.8 million adults living in hunger in 2021 appeared to be more than double that of 2020, when the CDC estimated that 15 million people dwelled in the shadows of malnourishment and starvation.

But the CDC said in an email that statisticians could not compare 2021 to 2020, citing a redesign in the annual questionnaire dating from 2019.

The percentage of adults experiencing family food insecurity in 2021 was higher in large inner cities (6.4%) and rural areas (7.7%) than in large metropolitan suburbs (4.2%) and small- or medium-sized cities (5.8%), this year’s report found.

The CDC reported that food insecurity was highest among unmarried adults living with children under age 18 (9.8%) and lowest among married adults not living with children under age 18 (3.4%).

• Sean Salai can be reached at ssalai@washingtontimes.com.