Insegurança alimentar entre adolescentes brasileiros: um estudo de validação da Escala Curta de Insegurança Alimentar

Use Database to Evaluate the Prevalence of Hunger Among Adolescents in Brazil

Food insecurity and malnutrition have become serious problems in many countries. In recent years, Brazil has experienced an increase in the prevalence of food insecurity and hunger. However, there is limited information on the status of these issues, and food security assessments are only performed as household measures. Therefore, the use of available databases is essential to expand information and support decision-making in the fight against food insecurity. This study aimed to evaluate the relationship between reports of hunger among adolescents and their sociodemographic characteristics. We used data from the 2015 National School Health Survey. The main variable of interest was obtained from responses to the following question: “Over the past 30 days, how often have you gone hungry because you did not have enough food at home?”. The responses were separately gathered from those who reported going hungry and those who did not. Socioeconomic characteristics were evaluated simultaneously. For statistical analysis, a Pearson chi-square test and multiple analyses were performed using Poisson regression models. A total of 101,888 adolescents were evaluated. The variable used to measure hunger was associated with maternal education, internet access, and fruit intake. The results showed a positive association between adolescents who reported going hungry and women, black and indigenous adolescent students living in households with more than five people, adolescents not living with their father, and adolescents planning to work or not knowing what they will do after completing the ninth grade. The results demonstrate that it is possible to use secondary data with a single question to assess, monitor, and provide insights into how food security impacts the sociodemographic groups differently.

Evidence of the validity of the Food and Nutritional Security Scale for adolescents (ESANa)

This study aimed to develop a valid and reliable scale for assessing food and nutritional insecurity, specifically in adolescents. The initial version of the scale consisted of two subscales: perception of food insecurity and perception of nutritional security. The items were submitted to content analysis (n = 4) by a group of food and nutrition security experts, and semantic analysis (n = 20) by a group of adolescents conveniently sampled from the target population. After adjustments, the final version of the scale was applied to adolescent students (n = 425) aged 12 to 18 years (m = 14.32±0.96; CV = 6.7%). A two-factor model was the most appropriate after performing exploratory factor analysis. The subscales showed modest values of the alpha coefficient (0.69 and 0.60, respectively). Daily consumption of fruits, vegetables and soft drinks was significantly associated with higher scores in the food and nutrition security perception scale. Therefore, it is recommended to combine food access-based items with other aspects related to attitudes and behaviors towards healthy eating in order to achieve a more accurate picture of adolescent's needs and better guide public policies.

Validation of a Scale to Assess Household Food Insecurity in One Rural and One Periurban Area of Ecuador, with a High Percentage of Migrants

Ecuador is the country that receives and integrates the largest amount of refugees and migrants of Latin America into its population and it has to have valid instruments for measuring and monitoring its food insecurity situation. A food security scale was applied to a sample of households in one rural area (n = 36), and another peri-urban one (n = 153). The validation was made following FAO recommendations. On applying the Raschse model it was observed that the theoretical severity of the questions was reflected similarly in the experiences of the households. The infit statistics for each item are placed in acceptable values (0.7-1.3). The results of the validated scale indicate that the study population finds itself in a serious food insecurity situation.

[Challenges facing Food and Nutrition Security in the Amazon: availability and consumption in households with adolescents]

Food and nutritional insecurity remains a challenge to the accomplishment of the right to adequate food in the Brazilian scenario. The scope of this study was to analyze the food and nutrition insecurity situation of adolescents both in households and on an individual level. A cross-sectional population-based study was conducted with 363 households and 95 adolescents in urban municipalities of the Brazilian Amazon. Food and nutrition insecurity was measured using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. Linear regression was used in the analysis of the gross and adjusted effect of food and nutrition insecurity on availability and consumption. The prevalence of food and nutrition insecurity in households was 51.8%, increased availability and consumption of food sources of energy and low consumption of vegetables, fruits and legumes. The linear model analysis of variance showed dependency between food insecurity and the effect of the frequency of availability of food and food consumption. The results highlight the challenge of implementing public policies, in the light of unhealthy food consumption as an aspect of permanent nutritional, corporal and emotional impairment in adulthood.