Insegurança alimentar e estado nutricional de crianças de Gameleira, zona da mata do Nordeste brasileiro Food insecurity and the nutritional status of children in Gameleira, in the Forest Zone of the Brazilian Northeast

OBJETIVOS: analisar a associação entre a insegurança alimentar das famílias e estado nutricional de menores de cinco anos. MÉTODOS: estudo transversal, de 501 famílias com 697 menores de cinco anos, no município da Gameleira, Pernambuco. A avaliação da (in)segurança alimentar foi realizada através da Escala Brasileira de Insegurança Alimentar (EBIA). A classificação do estado nutricional foi feita a partir dos indicadores estatura/idade, peso/idade e índice de massa corporal (IMC), utilizando o padrão de crescimento infantil da OMS. Foram estudados a associação de indicadores socioeconômicos, de insegurança alimentar e variáveis biológicas da criança sobre o índice estatura/idade, utilizando-se análise de regressão linear multivariada. RESULTADOS: a insegurança alimentar foi caracterizada em quase 90% das famílias, sendo a forma grave mais prevalente. Verificou-se uma prevalência baixa de déficit de peso pelo IMC e elevadas de déficit estatura/idade. O modelo final desta análise mostrou que as variáveis renda familiar per capita, escolaridade materna e idade da criança influenciaram significativamente o estado nutricional, entretanto, a EBIA não se associou com o estado nutricional das crianças. CONCLUSÕES: é evidente a discrepância entre a prevalência de insegurança alimentar nas famílias e a frequência baixa de desnutrição nas crianças, expressando que os dois indicadores avaliam aspectos e situações bem diferenciadas.<br>OBJECTIVES: to analyze the association between the food insecurity of families and the nutritional status of children aged under five years. METHODS: a cross-sectional study covering 501 families and 697 children aged under five years in the municipality of Gameleira, in the Brazilian State of Pernambuco. Food insecurity was assessed using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA). Nutritional status was classified according to height/age, weight/age and body mass index (BMI), using the infant growth standards of the WHO. The study investigated the association between socio-economic indicators, food (in)security and biological variables relating to the child such as height/age, using linear multivariate regression analysis. RESULTS: food insecurity was found in almost 90% of families, with the most severe form being the most prevalent. There was a low prevalence of underweight in terms of BMI but high levels of underweight in terms of height for age. The final model of this analysis showed that the variables household per capita income, level of schooling of mother, and age of child had a significant influence on the nutritional status of the child, although the EBIA was not significantly associated with this. CONCLUSIONS: there is a clear discrepancy between the prevalence of food insecurity in families and the low frequency of malnutrition in children, suggesting that the two indicators evaluate quite distinct features and situations

Assessing the internal validity of a household survey-based food security measure adapted for use in Iran

<p>Abstract</p> <p>Background</p> <p>The prevalence of food insecurity is an indicator of material well-being in an area of basic need. The U.S. Food Security Module has been adapted for use in a wide variety of cultural and linguistic settings around the world. We assessed the internal validity of the adapted U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module to measure adult and child food insecurity in Isfahan, Iran, using statistical methods based on the Rasch measurement model.</p> <p>Methods</p> <p>The U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module was translated into Farsi and after adaptation, administered to a representative sample. Data were provided by 2,004 randomly selected households from all sectors of the population of Isfahan, Iran, during 2005.</p> <p>Results</p> <p>53.1 percent reported that their food had run out at some time during the previous 12 months and they did not have money to buy more, while 26.7 percent reported that an adult had cut the size of a meal or skipped a meal because there was not enough money for food, and 7.2 percent reported that an adult did not eat for a whole day because there was not enough money for food. The severity of the items in the adult scale, estimated under Rasch-model assumptions, covered a range of 6.65 logistic units, and those in the child scale 11.68 logistic units. Most Item-infit statistics were near unity, and none exceeded 1.20.</p> <p>Conclusion</p> <p>The range of severity of items provides measurement coverage across a wide range of severity of food insecurity for both adults and children. Both scales demonstrated acceptable levels of internal validity, although several items should be improved. The similarity of the response patterns in the Isfahan and the U.S. suggests that food insecurity is experienced, managed, and described similarly in the two countries.</p