Household Food Insecurity Is Associated with Nutritional Status among Iranian Children

This cross-sectional study was conducted to determine household food security status and sociodemographic factors influencing it and to examine whether food insecurity of household is a risk factor for underweight, stunting, and thinness in primary school children of Sistan and Baluchestan Province in southeastern Iran. A sample of 610 students aged 7–11 years was selected by a multistage cluster random sampling method during December 2013–May 2014. Using U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Security questionnaire, 42.3% of households showed some degree of food insecurity. Food insecurity was positively associated with household size (p = .002) and number of children per household (p = .001) and negatively associated with mother’s and father’s education level (p = .005 and p = .042, respectively), father’s occupation status, and household income (p < .0001). Children living in food insecure with severe hunger households were 10.13, 10.07, and 4.54 times as likely to be underweight, stunted, and thin, respectively, as counterparts from food secure households. The findings showed food insecurity was prevalent and associated with sociodemographic factors among households with schoolchildren in southeastern Iran. Nutritional status of children was also associated with food security status of their households.     

Feeding inequality: food insecurity,social status and college student health

A growing but limited body of research has identified the college student population as one that is particularly vulnerable to food insecurity. Early estimates of food insecurity prevalence among college students range from 14 to 60 per cent. The present study utilises original survey data collected from a random sample (n = 300) of college students enrolled at an urban university in the Midwest region of the United States of America (USA). This study examines the impact of food insecurity on health outcomes and the mediation of this relationship by subjective social status among college students. Ordinary least squares (OLS) and logistic regression analyses find that food insecurity is related to worse self-rated, physical and mental health among college students, and Sobel-Goodman tests find that subjective social status plays a significant mediating role in the relationship between food insecurity and health among college students. The implications of these findings in a university context are discussed using a psychosocial framework and insights from the stress process model. In doing so, I discuss food insecurity among college students with an emphasis on the social significance of food and food insecurity.     

Food insecurity and food supplies in Latino households with young children

OBJECTIVE: To examine the relationship between food insecurity and food supplies in Latino households. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey, conducted February to May 2001. SETTING: Six California counties. PARTICIPANTS: Convenience sampling was used to recruit 274 low-income Latino families with preschool children from the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program for Women, Infants and Children (WIC), Head Start, and other community-based organizations. Complete data were available for 256 families. Variables Measured: Food security, household food scores. ANALYSIS: Pearson correlations, Kruskal-Wallis test, and logistics regression. Significance level at P <.05. RESULTS: Controlling for maternal education, food insecurity over the past 3 months was associated with lower household food supplies: dairy, r = -.18, P <.01; fruit, r = -.36, P <.001; grains, r = -.27, P <.0001; meats, r = -.22, P <.001; snack foods, r = -.23, P <.001; and vegetables, r = -.29, P <.001. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: In Latino households, greater food insecurity is associated with a lower variety of most foods, particularly fruits and vegetables. Future research in Latino households should explore the effects of seasonal food insecurity and household food shortages on food intake of individual household members, especially young children.     

Food insecurity and healthcare decision making among mobile food pantry clients in Tampa Bay

This article examines the relationship between food insecurity and health-care decision-making among mobile food pantry clients in Tampa Bay, Florida. Results show a high rate of food insecurity, high stress levels, and chronic health conditions among mobile pantry clients, many of whom are long-term users of food pantry services. The fruits and vegetables supplied by the pantry allow clients to manage chronic health conditions and mitigate some of the financial burden of health-care costs. Research was conducted in cooperation with the Anthropology Department at the University of South Florida, Feeding Tampa Bay, and WellCare .     

The relative influence of individual and contextual socio-economic status on consumption of fruit and soft drinks among adolescents in Europe

BACKGROUND: The number of studies among children and adolescents that focus on socio-economic differences in food habits is limited. Moreover, most are done in only one country and often include a non-representative sample. The present study examines whether socio-economic differences in the consumption of fruit and soft drinks can be found among young adolescents in a wide range of European countries. METHODS: Multilevel statistical analysis of 114 558 school-pupils aged 11, 13 and 15 from 28 countries participating in the WHO collaborative cross-national study of Health Behaviours among School-aged Children 2001-2002. The individual outcomes were daily fruit and soft drink consumption and the socio-economic predictors at the individual level were occupation of the head of household and family material wealth. Family material wealth was aggregated at the country level to operationalize country-level socio-economic status. RESULTS: In general, girls and younger pupils consumed fruit more often and soft drinks less often. Significant between-school, between-country and between-region differences were found. Fruit consumption increased with family material wealth and higher parental occupational status. Soft drink consumption was lower among pupils of higher parental occupational status in Northern, Southern and Western European countries, but not in Central and Eastern European countries. Only in Central and Eastern European countries was a significant increase in soft drink consumption with increasing family affluence found. The country level of family affluence did not seem to have an effect on either outcome variable. CONCLUSION: The findings underscore the importance of socio-economic factors in relation to the food habits of young adolescents.     

Health inequalities across socio-economic groups: comparing geographic-area-based and individual-based indicators

OBJECTIVES: To compare health inequality estimates obtained with different types of indicators of socio-economic status (SES), and study whether some of these are better predictors of health status, as indicated by observed disability data, than others. METHODS: Australian data were used to compare the use of the geographically based Socio-economic Index for Areas (SEIFA) in health inequality studies with two individual-based SES indicators able to account for family income and size. Inequalities in disability prevalences by SES were measured using age-standardized rate ratios. Logistic regression was used to determine which type of SES measure is a better predictor of the observed disability prevalences. RESULTS: Estimates of health inequalities obtained with the SEIFA were considerably lower than those obtained with the individual-based SES indicators. With the SEIFA, the proportion of disabled people amongst the most disadvantaged 20% of Australians was estimated to be 82% higher than amongst the most advantaged 20%, compared with over 150% with the individual-based SES measures. Also, the individual-based indicators were considerably better predictors of observed disability status than the SEIFA. CONCLUSION: An individual-level SES indicator, such as one based on family income, is a better predictor of people with a disability than a geographic-area-based index. Also, the main reason for the considerably lower inequality estimates obtained with the SEIFA is that, unlike the individual-based indicators, such location-based indices cannot account for the significant, often age-related variations in SES that exist amongst people living in a particular area.     

Food insecurity and disability in the United States

Background

Households with a disabled adult are disproportionately food insecure, yet the mechanisms linking food insecurity to disability are under-specified.

中国大陆地区老年人健康状况空间分布及社会经济影响因素

目的 了解中国大陆31个省、自治区、直辖市老年人健康状况空间分布及社会经济影响因素,为制定相关政策提供参考依据。方法 收集2010年第六次全国人口普查中老年人自评健康数据,分析老年人健康状况空间分布情况,并应用地理加权回归模型（GWR）分析其相关社会经济影响因素。结果 中国大陆31个省、自治区、直辖市老年人健康状况分布存在一定的空间聚集性,以省际为单位计算全局空间自相关Moran's I指数为0.132（P<0.05）,局部空间自相关分析结果显示,省份自身及周边省份老年人健康平均分均高（高-高型）的热点区域为江苏、浙江和福建,自身及周边地区老年人健康平均分均低（低-低型）的冷点区域为新疆和西藏;地理加权回归分析结果显示,国内生产总值和医疗机构数是影响老年人健康状况的主要社会经济因素,调整R²值为0.885,其中东部、中部、东北部和西部地区调整R²值范围分别为0.822~0.878、0.828~0.866、0.890~0.907和0.852~0.941,东部和中部部分地区的调整R²值低于西部和东北部;各区域国内生产总值和医疗机构数2个因素的β值范围分别为34.5~80.4和23.3~46.4。结论 中国大陆31个省、自治区、直辖市老年人健康状况分布存在省际间的空间聚集,在不同区域内国内生产总值和医疗机构数对老年人健康状况的影响不同,可据此制定具有针对性的老年人健康促进策略。     

Still there's no food! Food insecurity in a refugee population in Perth, Western Australia

Aim:  To identify food insecurity and examine its association with socio-demographic factors in a group of newly arrived refugees.
Methods:  Structured questionnaire based around the same question asked during the National Nutrition Survey (1995). The questionnaire was administered to a service-based sample of clients accessing early intervention services. Fifty-one individuals who were newly arrived refugees, resident in Australia for less than 12 months and who were receiving torture and trauma counselling.
Results:  Thirty-six individuals (71% of sample) reported running out of food. This percentage was much greater than the 5.2% recorded across all social and economic groups in the 1995 National Nutrition Survey. The most common reasons for running out of food were related to large household bills, late welfare payments, poor household skills, sending money 'home', transport issues and poor budgeting skills.
Conclusion:  Food insecurity in refugees in Perth, Western Australia is comparable to the rates of food insecurity found in this population in other parts of the developed world. There are, however, significant ramifications for the development of intervention strategies as well as policy implications. For refugees, focusing on community food security strategies will assist in building community capacity, facilitate the retention of cultural integrity, restore and maintain dignity, and will be instrumental in ensuring both short- and long-term health.     

中国人群膳食营养素及营养状况分析──1989年8省实例研究

为了解我国１０年经济体制改革后人群膳食结构的改变及身体的营养状况，于１９８９年对８省的１６市２４县居民的调查结果进行分析。结果表明，城市和县城居民热能摄入低于郊区和农村。来源于动物性食物的热能，城市和县城占１１％～１３％，郊区和农村只占５％～９％左右，各类地区来源于动物性食物的蛋白质和动物性脂肪随经济收入的上升而增加。调查人群成人（２０～４５岁）超重（ＢＭＩ≥２５．０）的检出率在７％～１２％之间，消瘦（ＢＭＩ＜１８．５）在７％～１０％之间。城市和县城居民超重检出率显著高于郊区和农村居民（Ｐ＜０．００１）。低收入组的超重检出率低于中高收入组（Ｐ＜０．００１）。体质指数（ＢＭＩ）随热能、蛋白质、脂肪等营养素摄入量的增加而升高。     

Food insecurity and the relationship between household income and children's health and nutrition in Brazil

Empirical evidence indicates that children living in wealthier households have better health. Food insecurity could be related to lack of adequate nutrition experienced by poor children and may be pointed out as one of the possible explanations for this relationship. This paper investigates the association between food insecurity and children's health and nutrition and the role of the former in the child health income gradient. Using data from the 2006 Brazilian Demographic and Health Survey, the results show that children living in households with food insecurity have worse nutrition and health indicators. In addition, the relationship between household income and many children's health and nutrition measures weakens but remains significant when controlling for food insecurity.     

Secular trends in socio-economic status and the implications for preterm birth

The rate of preterm birth in the developed world has been shown to be increasing, in part attributable to obstetric intervention. It has been suggested that this may be a differential increase between socio-economic groups. We aimed to assess whether the preterm rate in Norway is different in socio-economic groups defined by maternal education, and to determine the extent to which a difference is attributable to a socio-economic differential in obstetrical intervention, in terms of caesarean section or induction of labour. We used data from the Medical Birth Registry of Norway from 1980 to 1998 with preterm rate as the outcome and maternal educational level, marital status and obstetric intervention as exposure variables. In multivariable analyses, adjustment was made for maternal age, year of birth and birth order, and secular trends were assessed according to year of birth. The preterm birth rate was highest in the lowest socio-economic group. An increase of 25.2% in the preterm rate was seen over the observation period. No apparent differential was seen in the increase of the crude preterm rates between socio-economic groups, although in multivariable analyses there was a significant interaction between socio-economic group and time, implying a stronger effect of low education towards the end of the observation period attributable to demographic change. In conclusion, the preterm birth rate increased over time, but was mainly due to an increase in obstetric interventions. No closing of the gap between socio-economic groups was observed.     

Household food security status and its associated factors in Baft-Kerman,IRAN: a cross-sectional study

ABSTRACT

Food insecurity is prevalent in both developed and developing countries, which has considerable health impacts on the social, physical, and psychological status. This study aimed to examine the food security status and its related sociodemographic factors among the households living in Baft city of Iran. A sample of 702 households was selected by a simple random sampling method from January to March 2017. Using U.S. Department of Agriculture Food Security questionnaire, 34.3% of households showed some degree of food insecurity. Lower household size (OR = 0.84, CI: 0.73–0.97, P = .02), higher welfare facilities (OR = 1.55, CI: 1.32–1.81, P < .001), educational levels of the mothers and their spouse (being diploma as compared to under-diploma) (OR = 1.57, CI: 0.98–2.53, P = .04 and OR = 1.65, CI: 1.05–2.57, P = .02), governmental employment as compared to unemployment of the spouse (OR = 1.85, CI: 1.14–2.99, P = .01), and house ownership (rent compared to owner house; OR = 0.41, CI: 0.21–0.81, P = .01) were significantly associated with food security. The findings showed food insecurity was associated with some sociodemographic factors among households in Baft. These findings demonstrate that the government needs to continue its efforts to provide appropriate funding for population-based programs and policies, to enhance food security of the people living in this city.     

家庭社会经济地位与不良出生结局关系的研究进展

家庭社会经济地位(SES)与不良出生结局紧密相关。已有的研究表明,低SES与孕妇产前和孕期营养状态不佳、孕期不良生活方式、妊娠期疾病、环境污染物暴露等有关,而这些危险因素又会增加不良出生结局的发病风险。鉴于SES在短期内很难改变,本文欲通过揭示低SES伴随的高危因素,为降低不良出生结局的发生率提供科学依据。