Food insecurity, socioeconomic conditions and anthropometric indicators in children living in the Metropolitan Region of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

Abstract

The Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale has been valuable in demographic studies in Brazil for evaluating the situation of food insecurity and its association with social and nutritional indicators in the country’s population. This present study was carried to evaluate the association of food insecurity with anthropometric indicators of children under 30 months of age in the Campos Eliseos neighborhood of the city of Duque de Caxias, in the greater Rio de Janeiro region. It was a demographically based cross-section study on a sample of 1,085 households, 402 of which consisted of families with children. The data was gathered between May and December of 2005. Socioeconomic indicators were studied and anthropometric indicators (age-weight and age-height) were used to appraise the subjects’ nutritional state. The association between the independent and dependent variables was determined by applying the Q-square test and the multinomial-univariate logistics regression model. The association between the anthropometric data and food insecurity was determined by a linear univariate regression model. Food insecurity was found in 72% of the households, and approximately 80% of the families showed monthly family per capita income lower than two thirds of the already low minimum wage. In the analysis by multinomial logistics regression, the lack of basic water supply and sanitation and the low socioeconomic level were associated with moderate and serious food insecurity, whereas the presence of agglomerated families was related to serious food insecurity. Monthly per capita family income and the educational level of the reference person in the family were inversely associated with all levels of food insecurity. Food insecurity presented a linear and negative association with score-z for age-weight (p = 0.012) and for height-weight (p = 0.05). This study concludes that food insecurity as measured by the Ebia is associated with both socioeconomic factors and child malnutrition. The findings suggest the importance of establishing public policies aimed at minimizing social differences and the situation of food insecurity and hunger in the population studied.