Intra-family food insecurity and profile of food consumption

Abstract

Objective
Describe and evaluate daily food consumption among families experiencing food insecurity.

Methods
A population survey was conducted in Campinas, São Paulo, in 2003, with 456 families. One qualified member of each family was interviewed about their daily intake of 14 food groups. For the food insecurity classification, a scale divided into three categories was used: 1) Food security; 2) Mild food insecurity; 3) Moderate or Severe food insecurity.

Results
Significant differences were found among the categories of food insecurity with respect to food consumption. The proportion of respondents from families experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity or mild food insecurity that did not consume dairy products, fruits, vegetables, meats, on a daily basis is significantly higher than respondents from families who are food-secure (p<0.001). Among food-secure families, 73.7% consumed at least one fruit per day and 62.1% consumed dairy products every day. These percentages were 11.4% and 5.5%, respectively, in families with moderate or severe food insecurity. The majority of these families consumed only grains, oil, sugar, and dried beans on a daily basis, and they spend roughly 68% of their monthly income
on food. There are significant differences in the frequency of the main daily meals among the food security categories, which is always less frequent among families with moderate or severe food insecurity.

Conclusion
Families experiencing moderate or severe food insecurity have a boring diet, composed basically of energetic foods. Even among food secure families, adequate diet quality was not always present. These results show that it is necessary to strengthen nutrition education efforts in public policies that aim to improve food security and promote healthy diets.