Relationship of food insecurity to women's dietary outcomes: a systematic review

Context: Food insecurity matters for women's nutrition and health. Objective: This review sought to comprehensively evaluate how food insecurity relates to a full range of dietary outcomes (food groups, total energy, macronutrients, micronutrients, and overall dietary quality) among adult women living in Canada and the United States. Data sources: Peer-reviewed databases (PubMed/MEDLINE, CINAHL, Scopus, Web of Science) and gray literature sources from 1995 to 2016 were searched. Data extraction: Observational studies were used to calculate a percentage difference in dietary intake for food-insecure and food-secure groups. Results: Of the 24 included studies, the majority found food-insecure women had lower food group frequencies (dairy, total fruits and vegetables, total grains, and meats/meat alternatives) and intakes of macro- and micronutrients relative to food-secure women. Methodological quality varied. Among high-quality studies, food insecurity was negatively associated with dairy, fruits and vegetables, grains, meats/meats alternatives, protein, total fat, calcium, iron, magnesium, vitamins A and C, and folate. Conclusions: Results hold practical relevance for selecting nutritional targets in programs, particularly for nutrient-rich foods with iron and folate, which are more important for women's health

Response to the letter by Gedela

The letter to the editor submitted by Gedela (2013) in response to Parker et al. 2013 allows us to revisit the issue of infant formula distribution to human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)-exposed infants and children in resource-poor settings. The letter’s author advocates for the distribution of donated, almost-expired, ready-made, fortified formula to infants of HIV-infected mothers as a malnutrition prevention strategy following weaning and as a nutritional milk supplement or as a malnutrition treatment strategy for children older than 2 years of age.While we agree that creative solutions to the challenge of safely feeding HIV-exposed infants are urgently needed, the use of formula for these purposes is contrary to World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines on HIV and infant feeding (WHO 2010), which many African countries have taken measures to implement. Furthermore, evidence suggests that targeted distribution of formula is impractical, contributes to unsafe feeding practices, and subsequently increases child morbidity and mortality (WHO Collaborative Study Team 2000; Linkages 2004; Coovadia et al. 2007; WHO 2010; Doherty et al. 2011)

The Four Domain Food Insecurity Scale (4D-FIS): Development and evaluation of a complementary food insecurity measure

The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Security Survey Module (FSSM) is a valuable tool for measuring food insecurity, but it has limitations for capturing experiences of less severe food insecurity. To develop and test the Four Domain Food Insecurity Scale (4D-FIS), a complementary measure designed to assess all four domains of the food access dimension of food insecurity (quantitative, qualitative, psychological, and social).Low-income Black, Latina, and White women (n = 109) completed semi-structured (qualitative) and structured (quantitative) interviews. Interviewers separately administered two food insecurity scales, including the 4D-FIS and the USDA FSSM adult scale. A scoring protocol was developed to determine food insecurity status with the 4D-FIS. Analyses included a confirmatory factor analysis to examine the hypothesized structure of the 4D-FIS and an initial evaluation of reliability and validity. A four-factor model fit the data reasonably well as judged with fit indices. Results showed relatively high factor loadings and inter-factor correlations indicated that factors were distinct. Cronbach's alpha for the overall scale was 0.90 (subscale ? ranged from 0.69 to 0.91) and provided support for the scale's internal consistency reliability. There was fair overall agreement between the 4D-FIS and USDA FSSM adult scale, but agreement varied by category. Findings provide preliminary support for the 4D-FIS as a complementary measure of food insecurity, with implications for researchers, practitioners, and policymakers working in U.S. communities

Feeding patterns and behaviors during home supplementation of underweight Malawian children with lipid-based nutrient supplements or corn-soy blend

10.1016/j.appet.2010.02.003Appetite543504-511APPT

Engaging fathers to support child nutrition increases frequency of children’s animal source food consumption in Rwanda

Although social support from fathers is associated with improved child feeding practices, evidence on feasible, acceptable, and effective ways to involve fathers in supporting child nutrition, including animal source food (ASF) consumption, is limited. This study was a fol low-on to a trial that tested the effects of social and behavior change communication (SBCC) targeted mainly at mothers to promote ASF consumption by children in households that received an exotic or crossbred cow through the government of Rwanda’s Girinka “One Cow Per Poor Family” program (NCT0345567). A delayed SBCC intervention was provided to mothers in the non-intervention arms prior to the present pre/post study, which targeted fathers in households across the trial study arms. Baseline and endline surveys with a cohort of 149 fathers with a child clear actions they could take to support their children’s ASF consumption. This study shows that an SBCC intervention for fathers can improve children’s ASF consumption and increase fathers’ knowledge, awareness, and support for children’s nutrition