Household Food Security and Associated Factors among Portuguese Children

ABSTRACT

This study investigated the household food insecurity (HFI) among Portuguese children following the last world financial crisis. A cross-sectional study was conducted on 4737 Portuguese children (3–11 yrs). Socio-demographics, food insecurity, and household geographic location were assessed via questionnaire. Nutritional status was measured. Following the economic crisis, 14.2% of school children and 12.0% of preschool children experienced HFI. Preschool children having parents with low and medium parental education (paternal: OR = 4.4; 95% CI 2.7–7.1 and OR = 2.4; 95% CI 1.5–3.6; maternal: OR = 2.2; 95% CI 1.4–3.5 and OR = 1.6; 95% CI 1.1–2.3), living in the south (OR = 1.4; 95% CI 1.0–2.0) and being overweight/obese (OR = 1.1; 95% CI 0.7–1.3) were more likely to experience HFI than food secure household peers. Higher OR of belonging to a food insecure household were observed in school-aged children with low and medium parental education (paternal: OR = 2.9; 95% CI 1.9–4.6 and OR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.1–2.5; maternal: OR = 2.5; 95% CI 1.6–3.9 and OR = 2.3; 95% CI 1.6–3.3), living in Coimbra (OR = 1.7; 95% CI 1.1–2.6) and being overweight/obese (OR = 1.3; 95% CI 0.8–1.5) compared to food secure household peers. Data are instructive and support the need to increase awareness of HFI, reduce its incidence in overweight/obese children from low socio-economic status families and specific geographic areas, and increase food availability based on local ecology.

KEYWORDS:

• Food insecurity
• children
• weight status
• parental education
• geographics

Acknowledgments

The authors thank all the Directors of the “Agrupamentos Escolares” (schools) who accepted to participate in this project, the teachers directly involved and the parents of the children who authorized the questionnaires and anthropometric measures.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Authors’ contribution

Maria-Raquel G Silva conceived the study aim, participated in acquisition of data, analyzed and interpreted data and drafted the article. Aristides M. Machado-Rodrigues participated in acquisition of data and critically revised the article. Daniela Rodrigues, Helena Nogueira, Vítor Rosado-Marques and Augusta Gama contributed to the study design and critically revised the article for important intellectual content. and Cristina Padez was responsible for the study design, acquisition of data and critically revised the article. All authors approved the final manuscript as submitted and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by a grant from Fundação para a Ciência e Tecnologia, Portugal, reference: PTDC/DTP-SAP/1520/2014.