scholarly journals Prevalence and sociodemographic risk factors related to household food security in Aboriginal peoples in Canada

2009 ◽  
Vol 12 (8) ◽  
pp. 1150-1156 ◽  
Author(s):  
Noreen D Willows ◽  
Paul Veugelers ◽  
Kim Raine ◽  
Stefan Kuhle

AbstractObjectiveCanada’s Aboriginal population is vulnerable to food insecurity and increasingly lives off-reserve. The Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2.2 Nutrition, was used to compare the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of food insecurity between non-Aboriginal and off-reserve Aboriginal households.DesignFood insecurity status was based on Health Canada’s revised interpretation of responses to the US Household Food Security Survey Module. Logistic regression was used to assess if Aboriginal households were at higher risk for food insecurity than non-Aboriginal households, adjusting for household sociodemographic factors.SettingCanada.SubjectsHouseholds (n35,107), 1528 Aboriginal and 33 579 non-Aboriginal.ResultsThirty-three per cent of Aboriginal households were food insecure as compared with 9 % of non-Aboriginal households (univariate OR 5·2, 95 % CI 4·2, 6·3). Whereas 14 % of Aboriginal households had severe food insecurity, 3 % of non-Aboriginal households did. The prevalence of sociodemographic risk factors for household food insecurity was higher for Aboriginal households. Aboriginal households were more likely to have three or more children (14 %v. 5 %), be lone-parent households (2 1 %v. 5 %), not have home ownership (52 %v. 31 %), have educational attainment of secondary school or less (43 %v. 26 %), have income from sources other than wages or salaries (38 %v. 29 %), and be in the lowest income adequacy category (33 %v. 12 %). Adjusted for these sociodemographic factors, Aboriginal households retained a higher risk for food insecurity than non-Aboriginal households (OR 2·6, 95 % CI 2·1, 3·2).ConclusionsOff-reserve Aboriginal households in Canada merit special attention for income security and poverty alleviation initiatives.

2017 ◽  
Vol 37 (3) ◽  
pp. 77-86 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jasmin Bhawra ◽  
Martin Cooke ◽  
Yanling Guo ◽  
Piotr Wilk

Introduction Indigenous children are twice as likely to be classified as obese and three times as likely to experience household food insecurity when compared with non-Indigenous Canadian children. The purpose of this study was to explore the relationship between food insecurity and weight status among Métis and off-reserve First Nations children and youth across Canada. Methods We obtained data on children and youth aged 6 to 17 years (n = 6900) from the 2012 Aboriginal Peoples Survey. We tested bivariate relationships using Pearson chi-square tests and used nested binary logistic regressions to examine the food insecurity−weight status relationship, after controlling for geography, household and school characteristics and cultural factors. Results Approximately 22% of Métis and First Nations children and youth were overweight, and 15% were classified as obese. Over 80% of the sample was reported as food secure, 9% experienced low food security and 7% were severely food insecure. Off-reserve Indigenous children and youth from households with very low food security were at higher risk of overweight or obese status; however, this excess risk was not independent of household socioeconomic status, and was reduced by controlling for household income, adjusted for household size. Negative school environment was also a significant predictor of obesity risk, independent of demographic, household and geographic factors. Conclusion Both food insecurity and obesity were prevalent among the Indigenous groups studied, and our results suggest that a large proportion of children and youth who are food insecure are also overweight or obese. This study reinforces the importance of including social determinants of health, such as income, school environment and geography, in programs or policies targeting child obesity.


2013 ◽  
Vol 17 (1) ◽  
pp. 31-39 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kelly Skinner ◽  
Rhona M Hanning ◽  
Leonard JS Tsuji

AbstractObjectiveTo measure and describe the prevalence and severity of household food insecurity in a remote on-reserve First Nations community using the Household Food Security Survey Module (HFSSM) and to evaluate the perceived relevance of the HFSSM for this population.DesignHousehold food security status was determined from the eighteen-item HFSSM following the classifications developed by Health Canada for the Canadian Community Health Survey, Cycle 2·2 Nutrition. One adult from each household in the community was invited to complete the HFSSM and to comment on its relevance as a tool to measure food security for First Nations communities.SettingSub-Arctic Ontario, Canada.SubjectsHouseholds (n64).ResultsSeventy per cent of households were food insecure, 17 % severely and 53 % moderately. The prevalence of food insecurity in households with children was 76 %. Among respondents from homes rated as having severe food insecurity, all (100 %) reported worrying that food would run out, times when food didn't last and there wasn't money to buy more, and times when they couldn't afford to eat balanced meals. The majority of respondents felt the HFSSM did not capture an accurate picture of food security for their situation. Aspects missing from the HFSSM included the high cost of market food and the incorporation of traditional food practices.ConclusionsA high prevalence of household food insecurity was reported in this community. On-reserve remote First Nations communities may be more susceptible to food insecurity than off-reserve Aboriginal populations. Initiatives that promote food security for this vulnerable population are needed.


Nutrients ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 945
Author(s):  
Norhasmah Sulaiman ◽  
Heather Yeatman ◽  
Joanna Russell ◽  
Leh Shii Law

Living free from hunger is a basic human right. However, some communities still experience household food insecurity. This systematic literature review explored different aspects of household food insecurity in Malaysia including vulnerable groups, prevalence, risk factors, coping strategies, and the consequences of food insecurity. The review followed the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analysis (PRISMA) guidelines. Thirty-three relevant articles were selected from scientific databases such as CINAHL, Pubmed and Google Scholar, scrutiny of reference lists, and personal communication with experts in the field. The prevalence of household food insecurity in Malaysia was unexpectedly reported as high, with affected groups including Orang Asli, low-income household/welfare-recipient households, university students, and the elderly. Demographic risk factors and socioeconomic characteristics included larger household, living in poverty, and low education. Coping strategies were practices to increase the accessibility of food in their households. Consequences of household food insecurity included psychological, dietary (macro- and micronutrient intakes), nutritional status, and health impacts. In conclusion, this review confirmed that household food insecurity in Malaysia continues to exist. Nevertheless, extensive and active investigations are encouraged to obtain a more holistic and comprehensive picture pertaining to household food security in Malaysia.


BMC Nutrition ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 7 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Milagro Escobar ◽  
Andrea DeCastro Mendez ◽  
Maria Romero Encinas ◽  
Sofia Villagomez ◽  
Janet M. Wojcicki

Abstract Background Food insecurity impacts nearly one-in-four Latinx households in the United States and has been exacerbated by the novel coronavirus or COVID-19 pandemic. Methods We examined the impact of COVID-19 on household and child food security in three preexisting, longitudinal, Latinx urban cohorts in the San Francisco Bay Area (N = 375 households, 1875 individuals). Households were initially recruited during pregnancy and postpartum at Zuckerberg San Francisco General Hospital (ZSFG) and UCSF Benioff prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. For this COVID-19 sub-study, participants responded to a 15-min telephonic interview. Participants answered 18 questions from the US Food Security Food Module (US HFSSM) and questions on types of food consumption, housing and employment status, and history of COVID-19 infection as per community or hospital-based testing. Food security and insecurity levels were compared with prior year metrics. Results We found low levels of household food security in Latinx families (by cohort: 29.2%; 34.2%; 60.0%) and child food security (56.9%, 54.1%, 78.0%) with differences between cohorts explained by self-reported levels of education and employment status. Food security levels were much lower than those reported previously in two cohorts where data had been recorded from prior years. Reported history of COVID-19 infection in households was 4.8% (95% Confidence Interval (CI); 1.5–14.3%); 7.2% (95%CI, 3.6–13.9%) and 3.5% (95%CI, 1.7–7.2%) by cohort and was associated with food insecurity in the two larger cohorts (p = 0.03; p = 0.01 respectively). Conclusions Latinx families in the Bay Area with children are experiencing a sharp rise in food insecurity levels during the COVID-19 epidemic. Food insecurity, similar to other indices of poverty, is associated with increased risk for COVID-19 infection. Comprehensive interventions are needed to address food insecurity in Latinx populations and further studies are needed to better assess independent associations between household food insecurity, poor nutritional health and risk of COVID-19 infection.


2021 ◽  
Vol 80 (Suppl 1) ◽  
pp. 1360.3-1361
Author(s):  
L. G. Espinosa Banuelos ◽  
P. R. Ancer Rodríguez ◽  
M. G. Herrera López ◽  
C. M. Skinner Taylor ◽  
L. Pérez Barbosa ◽  
...  

Background:The SARS-CoV-2 pandemic has directly impacted the psychological and physical health of individuals worldwide, as well as the global economy. Food insecurity rates have risen especially in vulnerable countries like Mexico. Furthermore, social isolation and economic uncertainty have multiplied depression and anxiety disorders. Pregnant and postpartum women are particularly vulnerable to food insecurity, increased stress, depression, and anxiety.Objectives:The aim of this study is to determine the perception of food insecurity (FI) and perceived stress in pregnant and postpartum women with rheumatic disease during the SARS-CoV-2 pandemic.Methods:An observational, cross-sectional and descriptive study was conducted. Patients from to the pregnancy and rheumatic diseases clinic of the University Hospital “Dr. José E. González” in Northeast Mexico evaluated between August to October 2020 were included. The Spanish validated versions of the Household Food Security Access Scale (HFIAS) and the Perceived Stress Scale (PSS-10) were applied by telephonic interview. The WHO recommendations were employed to determine the appropriate intake for each food group in a week. The Kolmogorov-Smirnov test was used to determine normality of the data. The Spearman correlation coefficient and the Kruskal-Wallis test were used for statistical analysis.Results:A total of 29 women were included. Six (20.6%) women were found to have moderate or severe degrees of food insecurity. In addition, 12 (40.30%) perceived moderate and severe levels of stress in the PSS-10. No relationship was found between food insecurity and perceived stress (p= 0.059). The food groups that exceeded the recommended weekly frequency were oils and sugars exceeded 3.9 and 2.9 frequencies, respectively.Conclusion:We found that 20.6% women suffered household food insecurity and 40.3% suffered moderate and severe levels of stress. No relationship was found between food insecurity with the HIFAS scale and perceived stress measures with the PSS-10. We found that oils and sugars exceeded more by the double of the recommended frequency per week.References:[1]Pérez-Escamilla R, Cunningham K, Moran VH. COVID-19 and maternal and child food and nutrition insecurity: a complex syndemic. Matern Child Nutr. 2020;16(3):e13036. doi:10.1111/mcn.13036[2]Adams EL, Caccavale LJ, Smith D, Bean MK. Food Insecurity, the Home Food Environment, and Parent Feeding Practices in the Era of COVID-19. Obesity (Silver Spring). 2020;28(11):2056-2063. doi:10.1002/oby.22996Table 1.Socio-demographic characteristics and scale results.Age, years, mean (SD)27.5 (7.03)Diagnosis, n (%)RA16 (55.1)SLE7 (24.4)Others6 (20.6)Results per scalesHFIAS, n (%)No risk13 (44.8)Mild10 (34.4)Moderated3 (10.3)Severe3 (10.3)EPP-10, n (%)Mild17 (58.6)Moderated9 (31.0)Severe3 (10.3)SD: standard deviation, RA: Rheumatoid arthritis, SLE: Systemic lupus erythematosus, HFIAS: Household food security access component scale, EPP-10: Perceived stress scale 10 items.Disclosure of Interests:None declared.


2008 ◽  
Vol 21 (suppl) ◽  
pp. 27s-37s ◽  
Author(s):  
Hugo Melgar-Quinonez ◽  
Michelle Hackett

Measuring household food insecurity represents a challenge due to the complexity and wide array of factors associated with this phenomenon. For over one decade, researchers and agencies throughout the world have been using and assessing the validity of variations of the United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Supplemental Module. Thanks to numerous studies of diverse design, size, and purpose, the Household Food Security Supplemental Module has shown its suitability to directly evaluate the perceptions of individuals on their food security status. In addition, challenges and limitations are becoming clearer and new research questions are emerging as the process advances. The purpose of this article is to describe the development, validation procedures, and use of the Household Food Security Supplemental Module in very diverse settings. The most common Household Food Security Supplemental Module related studies have been conducted using criterion validity, Rasch modeling and Cronbach-Alpha Coefficient. It is critical that researchers, policy makers, governmental and non-governmental agencies intensify their efforts to further develop tools that provide valid and reliable measures of food security in diverse population groups. Additional work is needed to synthesize a universally applicable tool able to capture the global human phenomenon of food insecurity.


PLoS ONE ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 16 (11) ◽  
pp. e0259139
Author(s):  
Elizabeth Opiyo Onyango ◽  
Jonathan Crush ◽  
Samuel Owuor

An understanding of the types of shocks that disrupt and negatively impact urban household food security is of critical importance to develop relevant and targeted food security emergency preparedness policies and responses, a fact magnified by the current COVID-19 pandemic. This gap is addressed by the current study which draws from the Hungry Cities Partnership (HCP) city-wide household food insecurity survey of Nairobi city in Kenya. It uses both descriptive statistics and multilevel modelling using General Linear Mixed Models (GLMM) to examine the relationship between household food security and 16 different shocks experienced in the six months prior to the administration of the survey. The findings showed that only 29% of surveyed households were completely food secure. Of those experiencing some level of food insecurity, more experienced economic (55%) than sociopolitical (16%) and biophysical (10%) shocks. Economic shocks such as food price increases, loss of employment, and reduced income were all associated with increased food insecurity. Coupled with the lack of functioning social safety nets in Nairobi, households experiencing shocks and emergencies experience serious food insecurity and related health effects. In this context, the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to have a major negative economic impact on many vulnerable urban households. As such, there is need for new policies on urban food emergencies with a clear emergency preparedness plan for responding to major economic and other shocks that target the most vulnerable.


Author(s):  
Seo-Hee Park ◽  
Byung-Jin Park ◽  
Dong-Hyuk Jung ◽  
Yu-Jin Kwon

Household food insecurity has been associated with noncommunicable diseases. The aim of this study was to investigate the association between household food insecurity and asthma in Korean adults. Household food security statuses were classified into three groups: Food-secure household, food-insecure household without hunger, and food-insecure household with hunger. The odds ratios and 95% confidence intervals for the presence of asthma according to household food security status were calculated using multiple logistic regression analyses after adjusting for confounding factors. A total of 14,770 participants were included in the analysis. The prevalence of asthma was 2.6% in those with a secure food status, 3.2% in those with an insecure food status without hunger, and 7.6% in those with an insecure food status with hunger (p < 0.001). Compared with that in participants with a household food secure status, the odds ratios (95% confidence intervals) for asthma were 1.12 (0.73–1.73) in those with a food-insecure household without hunger status and 2.44 (1.33–4.46) in those with a food-insecure household with hunger status after additionally adjusting for confounding factors. We found that household food insecurity with hunger was significantly associated with asthma prevalence in Korean adults. Implementation of household food security screening and public health intervention could be helpful to prevent and reduce asthma in adults.


2010 ◽  
Vol 13 (10) ◽  
pp. 1609-1613 ◽  
Author(s):  
Assieh Mohammadzadeh ◽  
Ahmadreza Dorosty ◽  
Mohammadreza Eshraghian

AbstractObjectiveThe present study was designed to determine household food security status and factors associated with food insecurity among high-school students in Esfahan, Iran.DesignCross-sectional surveys.SettingThe present study was conducted in autumn 2008 in Esfahan, Iran. The samples were selected using systematic cluster sampling. Socio-economic questionnaires, food security questionnaires and FFQ were filled out during face-to-face interviews. In addition, data on participants’ weights and heights were collected.SubjectsA total of 580 students (261 boys and 319 girls) aged 14–17 years from forty high schools in Esfahan, Iran, were selected.ResultsThe prevalence of household food insecurity according to the US Department of Agriculture food security questionnaire was 36·6 % (95 % CI 0·33, 0·40). Food insecurity was positively associated with number of members in the household (P < 0·05) and negatively associated with parental education level and job status and household economic status (P < 0·05). Moreover, students living in food-insecure households more frequently consumed bread, macaroni, potato and egg (P < 0·05), while they less frequently consumed rice, red meat, sausage and hamburger, poultry, fish, green vegetables, root and bulb (coloured) vegetables, melons, apples and oranges, milk and yoghurt (P < 0·05).ConclusionsFood insecurity was prevalent among households in Esfahan, Iran, and food security status was associated with socio-economic factors. Students who belonged to food-secure households more frequently consumed healthy foods (except sausage and hamburger), whereas those living in food-insecure households more frequently consumed cheap foods containing high energy per kilogram. The present study suggests that intervention programmes be designed and carried out.


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