The Importance of Nutrition Education in Achieving Food Security and Adequate Nutrition of the Poor: Experimental Evidence from Bangladesh*

This chapter challenges the uncritical pursuit of food self-sufficiency that has been rationalized as increasing the state’s preparedness against shipping disruption. It argues that this effort might increase food’s cost, and reiterates the point that local food is not necessarily fair as low-income consumers could be sidelined in the push for food localization. In contrast to the enthusiasm for promoting agriculture and local food production in the state, relatively little has been done in addressing food insecurity of the poor, especially by the state government. Food democracy needs to consider food security for all—particularly the poor and the marginalized.

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Food security situations among female headed households in Enugu East Senatorial Zone of Enugu State, Nigeria

Journal of Agricultural Extension ◽

10.4314/jae.v24i4.11 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 24 (4) ◽

pp. 100-112

Author(s):

Remigius. I. Ozioko ◽

Blessing. C. Nwigwe ◽

Anthonia. N. Asadu ◽

Miracle. I. Nwafor ◽

Onyinyechi. I. Nnadi ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Coping Strategies ◽

Nutrition Education ◽

Food Consumption ◽

Crop Production ◽

Household Food Security ◽

Household Food ◽

Enugu State ◽

Female Headed Households ◽

Poor Nutrition

The study examined food security situation of female-headed households in Enugu State, Nigeria. The study identified livelihood activities of respondents, ascertained the food security situation, examined constraints to food security, and examined coping strategies of respondents. Multi-stage sampling procedure, snow ball and simple random techniques were used to select 72 female-headed households. Data were analyzed using mean score and factor analysis. Results showed that respondents livelihood activities included crop production (77.8%), processing and sale of palm produce (43.1%) and processing of farm produce (38.9%). Household food security situations included food secure to moderately food-insecure. Major constraints to food security of the respondents were poverty ( x̄ =2.52), lack of education and skill ( x̄ =2.50), poor rural infrastructure ( x̄ =2.50) and poor nutrition education ( x̄ =2.54). Coping strategies included restriction of food consumption of adults ( x̄ =2.21) reducing food consumption per day ( x̄ =2.00) and staying hungry ( x̄ =2.04). The study concludes that the households in the area were grossly food insecure as they spent more of their meager earning only on food. There was poor nutrition education and lack of productive skills. Poverty was found to be a major cause of food insecurity in the area as it robs people the option of fine choices. Hence, government and other development agencies should provide policies and efforts that assist Female headed households in capacity building like providing them with productive resources which will expand their scope of livelihood choices. Keywords: Food security, female headed household, food situation, poverty

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Foods for Health: An Integrated Social Medical Approach to Food Insecurity Among Patients With Diabetes

American Journal of Health Promotion ◽

10.1177/0890117120964144 ◽

2020 ◽

pp. 089011712096414

Author(s):

Jonathan L. Blitstein ◽

Danielle Lazar ◽

Kathleen Gregory ◽

Colleen McLoughlin ◽

Linda Rosul ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Food Security ◽

Glycemic Control ◽

Food Insecurity ◽

Nutrition Education ◽

Repeated Measures ◽

Repeated Measure ◽

Care Practice ◽

Mixed Effect ◽

Repeated Measures Design ◽

Patients With Diabetes

Purpose: Examine a clinic-based approach to improve food security and glycemic control among patients with diabetes. Design: One-group repeated-measures design. Setting: Federally Qualified Health Centers in a large Midwest city. Sample: Of the 933 patients with diabetes who consented at baseline, 398 (42.66%) returned during the follow-up period for a visit that included Hemoglobin A1c (HbA1c) results. Intervention: Integrated social medicine approach that includes food insecurity screening, nutrition education, and assistance accessing food resources as a standard-of-care practice designed to minimize disruptions in how patients and providers experience medical care. Measures: HbA1c collected as part of a standard blood panel. Analysis: Repeated-measure, mixed-effect linear regression models. Results: There was a decrease in mean HbA1c (Δ = −0.22, P = 0.01) over the study period. The model examining change over time, glycemic control (GC), and food security status (F1, 352 = 5.80, P = 0.02) indicated that among participants with poor GC (33.12%), food secure (FS) participants exhibited significantly greater levels of improvement than food insecure (FI) participants (Δ = −0.55, P = 0.04). Among participants with good GC, changes in HbA1c were not significantly different between FS and FI participants (Δ = 0.23, P = 0.21). Conclusion: Providing nutrition education and food assistance improved HbA1c profiles among FS and FI participants, but FI participants may face social and structural challenges that require additional support from health care teams.

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