Food Insecurity in Undergraduates During and After Remote Learning: A Brazilian Multicenter Study
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design and Participants
2.2. Food Insecurity
2.3. Self-Referred Changes in Weight and Diet Quality Assessment
2.4. Perceived Stress
2.5. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Abbreviations
FI | Food insecurity |
UFAC | Federal University of Acre |
UFRN | Federal University of Rio Grande do Norte |
USP | University of São Paulo |
UFPR | Federal University of Paraná |
OR | Odds ratio |
AOR | Adjusted odds ratio |
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2020/2021 | 2023 | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
(n = 4653) | (n = 2888) | ||||
Characteristics | Median (Q1–Q3) | Median (Q1–Q3) | U, p-value 1 | ||
Age | 22.0 (20.0–26.0) | 23.0 (20.0–30.0) | 6,318,310, <0.001 | ||
Characteristics | N | % | N | % | χ2, p-value 2 |
Sex | |||||
Male | 1577 | 33.9 | 963 | 35.1 | 1.16, 0.282 |
Female | 3076 | 66.1 | 1777 | 64.9 | |
Marital status | |||||
Married | 307 | 6.6 | 292 | 10.2 | 50.40, <0.001 |
Stable union | 248 | 5.3 | 212 | 7.4 | |
Divorced | 67 | 1.4 | 72 | 2.5 | |
Widower | 6 | 0.1 | 1 | 0.0 | |
Single | 4018 | 86.4 | 2288 | 79.9 | |
Family income in minimum wages 3 | |||||
None | 127 | 2.7 | 25 | 0.9 | 101.68, <0.001 |
0–1 | 686 | 14.7 | 340 | 12.5 | |
1–3 | 1439 | 30.9 | 795 | 29.3 | |
3–6 | 1018 | 21.9 | 768 | 28.3 | |
6–9 | 515 | 11.1 | 367 | 13.5 | |
9–12 | 312 | 6.7 | 185 | 6.8 | |
12–15 | 207 | 4.4 | 58 | 2.1 | |
>15 | 311 | 6.7 | 178 | 6.6 | |
Family income change during the last year | |||||
No | 1907 | 41.0 | 1090 | 41.3 | 349.71, <0.001 |
Yes, for more | 456 | 9.8 | 664 | 25.2 | |
Yes, for less | 2249 | 48.3 | 884 | 33.5 | |
Change of address in the last year | |||||
No | 3424 | 73.6 | 2165 | 75.3 | 1.57, 0.210 |
Yes | 1223 | 26.3 | 712 | 24.7 | |
Self-perceived weight change during the last year | |||||
No | 568 | 12.2 | 642 | 22.9 | |
Yes, for less | 1285 | 27.6 | 711 | 25.3 | 122.19, <0.001 |
Yes, for more | 2593 | 55.7 | 1453 | 51.8 | |
Self-assessment of health status | |||||
Very good | 458 | 9.8 | 368 | 12.7 | 36.02, <0.001 |
Good | 1355 | 29.1 | 964 | 33.4 | |
Regular | 1679 | 36.1 | 929 | 32.2 | |
Poor | 877 | 18.8 | 474 | 16.4 | |
Very poor | 263 | 5.7 | 152 | 5.3 | |
Diet quality assessment | |||||
Very poor | 63 | 1.3 | 24 | 0.8 | 1314.84, <0.001 |
Poor | 406 | 8.6 | 171 | 5.9 | |
Good | 2423 | 51.9 | 1757 | 41.4 | |
Very good | 1779 | 37.1 | 926 | 32.1 | |
Excellent | 52 | 1.1 | 4 | 0.1 | |
Perceived stress assessment | |||||
Low | 436 | 9.1 | 288 | 10.1 | 11.27, 0.004 |
Moderate | 797 | 16.6 | 547 | 19.1 | |
Elevated | 3566 | 74.3 | 2026 | 70.8 |
Food Insecurity Classification | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|
Independent Variables | OR (95% CI) | p Value | AOR (95% CI) | p Value |
Sex | ||||
Male | 0.84 (0.76–0.92) | <0.001 | 0.98 (0.88–1.10) | 0.776 |
Female | - | - | - | - |
Family income in minimum wages 1 | ||||
None | 19.81 (13.42–29.24) | <0.001 | 18.32 (12.00–27.98) | <0.001 |
0–1 | 10.04 (7.62–13.24) | <0.001 | 9.15 (6.75–12.40) | <0.001 |
1–3 | 4.96 (3.81–4.45) | <0.001 | 4.55 (3.40–6.08) | <0.001 |
3–6 | 2.33 (1.78–3.05) | <0.001 | 2.17 (1.61–2.92) | <0.001 |
6–9 | 1.71 (1.28–2.31) | <0.001 | 1.69 (1.22–2.33) | 0.001 |
9–12 | 1.09 (0.76–1.54) | 0.633 | 1.13 (0.78–1.64) | 0.515 |
12–15 | 0.75 (0.48–1.18) | 0.211 | 0.79 (0.49–1.29) | 0.351 |
>15 | - | - | - | - |
Family income change during the last year | ||||
No | 0.54 (0.49–0.60) | <0.001 | 0.73 (0.65–0.82) | <0.001 |
Yes, for more | 0.83 (0.72–0.95) | 0.008 | 0.94 (0.81–1.10) | 0.474 |
Yes, for less | - | - | - | - |
Self-perceived weight change during the last year | ||||
No | 0.75 (0.65–0.85) | <0.001 | 0.94 (0.80–1.10) | 0.461 |
Yes, for less | 0.97 (0.87–1.08) | 0.607 | 1.06 (0.94–1.20) | 0.312 |
Yes, for more | - | - | - | - |
Self-assessment of health status | ||||
Very good | 0.30 (0.24–0.38) | <0.001 | 0.54 (0.40–0.71) | <0.001 |
Good | 0.42 (0.35–0.52) | <0.001 | 0.66 (0.53–0.84) | <0.001 |
Regular | 0.63 (0.52–0.77) | <0.001 | 0.74 (0.59–0.93) | 0.008 |
Poor | 0.80 (0.65–0.99) | 0.043 | 0.82 (0.66–1.05) | 0.120 |
Very poor | - | - | - | - |
Diet quality assessment | ||||
Very poor | 2.38 (1.19–4.74) | 0.014 | 1.17 (0.55–2.52) | 0.682 |
Poor | 1.29 (0.76–2.22) | 0.340 | 0.76 (0.42–1.39) | 0.371 |
Good | 1.81 (1,07–3,07) | 0.026 | 1.03 (0.57–1.85) | 0.930 |
Very good | 1.24 (0.73–2.12) | 0.417 | 0.84 (0.46–1.50) | 0.549 |
Excellent | - | - | - | - |
Perceived stress assessment | ||||
Low | 0.39 (0.32–0.47) | <0.001 | 0.58 (0.47–0.74) | <0.001 |
Moderate | 0.57 (0.49–0.65) | <0.001 | 0.73 (0.63–0.85) | <0.001 |
Elevated | - | - | - | - |
Year of data collection | ||||
2020/2021 | 1.02 (0.92–1.12) | 0.694 | 0.92 (0.81–1.04) | 0.195 |
2023 | - | - | - | - |
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Share and Cite
Galvão, L.; Ataliba, L.; Oliveira, J.; Höfelmann, D.; Crispim, S.; Ramalho, A.; Martins, F.; Gorgulho, B.; Rodrigues, P.; Lyra, C.; et al. Food Insecurity in Undergraduates During and After Remote Learning: A Brazilian Multicenter Study. Int. J. Environ. Res. Public Health 2025, 22, 1508. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22101508
Galvão L, Ataliba L, Oliveira J, Höfelmann D, Crispim S, Ramalho A, Martins F, Gorgulho B, Rodrigues P, Lyra C, et al. Food Insecurity in Undergraduates During and After Remote Learning: A Brazilian Multicenter Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health. 2025; 22(10):1508. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22101508
Chicago/Turabian StyleGalvão, Liana, Luana Ataliba, Jussara Oliveira, Doroteia Höfelmann, Sandra Crispim, Alanderson Ramalho, Fernanda Martins, Bartira Gorgulho, Paulo Rodrigues, Clélia Lyra, and et al. 2025. "Food Insecurity in Undergraduates During and After Remote Learning: A Brazilian Multicenter Study" International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health 22, no. 10: 1508. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22101508
APA StyleGalvão, L., Ataliba, L., Oliveira, J., Höfelmann, D., Crispim, S., Ramalho, A., Martins, F., Gorgulho, B., Rodrigues, P., Lyra, C., Slater, B., Marchioni, D., & Maciel, B. (2025). Food Insecurity in Undergraduates During and After Remote Learning: A Brazilian Multicenter Study. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 22(10), 1508. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph22101508