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Food Insecurity, Diet Quality and Human Health

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A special issue of Nutrients (ISSN 2072-6643). This special issue belongs to the section "Nutrition and Public Health".

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (25 April 2023) | Viewed by 14362

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Special Issue Editor

Dr. Amanda Grech

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Guest Editor

Charles Perkins Centre, School of Life and Environmental Sciences, University of Sydney, Sydney, NSW 2006, Australia
Interests: nutrition;epidemiology and public health;nutritional epidemiology;disease prevention

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Food insecurity is defined as the lack regular access to enough safe and nutritious food for normal growth and development and an active and healthy life (FAO, 2022). An estimated 2 billion people globally experienced food insecurity in 2018–2019. While severe food insecurity is associated with stunting and wasting, paradoxically, mild food insecurity has been correlated with a higher prevalence of obesity among vulnerable populations globally along with diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease and diminished mental health. Many micronutrients are limited in modern dietary patterns such as iron, vitamin D, magnesium, and Vitamin C, but the relationship with food insecurity is often under-examined. The over-reliance of cheap, palatable, ultra-processed foods by vulnerable populations are presumed to compromise achieving adequate nutrition, but this is an area of active research. Interventions designed to prevent food insecurity from occurring or to prevent absolute food shortages, such as food banks, need to be assessed in the context of their ability to improve diet quality, thereby preventing malnutrition in all its forms.

This Special Issue aims to further examine the complex interplay between food insecurity, diet quality, and health. The presented materials are the result of international scientific cooperation of experts specializing in these issues. The content may be useful for clinical practitioners, furture government policies, and in engaging innovative research to improve the diet quality of those experiencing food insecurity.

Dr. Amanda Grech
Guest Editor

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

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Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2900 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Keywords

malnutrition
obesity
non-communicable diseases
diet quality
food insecurity
socioeconomic status
social determinants of health

Published Papers (6 papers)

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Research

15 pages, 348 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Relationship between Food Insecurity and Nutritional Risk among Older Adults in Poland—A Preliminary Study

by Robert Gajda and Marzena Jeżewska-Zychowicz

Nutrients 2023, 15(14), 3232; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15143232 - 21 Jul 2023

Viewed by 1202

Abstract

Aging populations may be associated with increased nutritional risk, malnutrition, and food insecurity. This study aims to examine the relationship between food insecurity and nutritional risk, taking into account selected characteristics of the study group, and factors describing nutritional risk. It was conducted between May and July 2021, among 417 people aged 60 and older, in two regions of Poland. Questions from the SCREEN-14 questionnaire were used to assess nutritional risk. Selected questions from the HFSS questionnaire (U.S. Household Food Security Survey Module) concerning the elderly were used to assess food insecurity. A K-means cluster analysis was used to separate homogeneous clusters into food security indicators and nutritional risk factors. The Mann–Whitney U test and Kruskal–Wallis test were used to compare mean values between groups, and the Chi-square test was used to verify the differences. Two clusters were distinguished: I—“low food security and high nutritional risk” and II—“high food security and low nutritional risk”. Cluster I included people aged 60–65, and over 75, living in urban areas, living alone or with family, with unfavorable economic situations and family relationships. Cluster II was composed of people aged 71–75, who were rural residents, living with a partner, with favorable economic situations and family relations. The vast majority of nutritional risk factors were found in Cluster I and among those at high nutritional risk. The largest number of people were affected by such nutritional risk factors such as difficulty in chewing or biting, loss in appetite, skipping meals, and perceiving one’s weight as abnormal. Moreover, the group of people most significantly affected by high nutritional risk were in unfavorable economic situations, had poor family relationships, lived alone or with family, rated their health as worse than their peers, were overweight and obese, had metabolic disease, or impeding mobility. The results obtained can be applied to the planning of social and health policies for the elderly in Poland. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Insecurity, Diet Quality and Human Health)

22 pages, 650 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Prevalence and Determinants of Child Hunger and Its Associations with Early Childhood Nutritional Status among Urban Poverty Households during COVID-19 Pandemic in Petaling District, Malaysia: An Exploratory Cross-Sectional Survey

by Kai Shen Ooi, Muhammad Irfan Abdul Jalal, Jing Yuan Wong, Minn Yin Choo, Nurul Afifah Kamruldzaman, Chuan Way Lye and Lucy Chai See Lum

Nutrients 2023, 15(10), 2356; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15102356 - 17 May 2023

Viewed by 2568

Abstract

Child hunger was prevalent during the COVID-19 pandemic, but the extent, determinants, and impact on pre-school children aged 6 months to 7 years old from Malaysian urban poor households are still unknown. This exploratory cross-sectional study was performed between July 2020 and January 2021 at the Lembah Subang People Housing Project, Petaling. The households’ food security status was assessed using the previously validated Radimer/Cornell questionnaire, and the children’s anthropometric measurements were taken. Food diversity score was assessed using the World Health Organization Infant and Young Children Feeding (under-2 children) or Food and Agriculture Organization Women’s Dietary Diversity (2-year-old-and-above children) systems. Overall, 106 households were recruited. The prevalence of child hunger is 58.4% (95% CI: 50.0, 67.4). Significant differences were found in breastfeeding and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption between under-2 and ≥2-year-old children. There were no significant differences between child hunger and other food-insecure groups in weight-for-age, height-for-age, and weight-for-height z-scores. Only a higher dietary diversity score was significantly protective against child hunger after adjusting for maternal age, paternal employment status, and the number of household children (OR_adjusted: 0.637 (95% CI: 0.443, 0.916), p = 0.015)). Proactive strategies are warranted to reduce child hunger during the COVID-19 pandemic by improving childhood dietary diversity. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Insecurity, Diet Quality and Human Health)

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14 pages, 883 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Food Security, Nutritional Supply, and Nutrient Sources in Rural Burkina Faso

by Sakiko Shiratori, Yachiyo Tobita and Eveline M. F. W. Sawadogo-Compaoré

Nutrients 2023, 15(10), 2285; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15102285 - 12 May 2023

Cited by 1 | Viewed by 1813

Abstract

Rural communities are more likely to encounter constraints in achieving food security and adequate nutritional supply. This study explores food security, nutritional supply, nutrient adequacy, macronutrient balance, recipes, and nutrient sources based on bi-monthly household surveys in rural villages in Northern and Southern Burkina Faso from 2019 to 2020. Food security across time and its quantity dimensions were measured using the food consumption score (FCS). Ordered logit regression showed that FCS was significantly influenced by season, region, and household characteristics such as the head’s education and women’s possession of personal plots. The regional differences were large: Households categorized as having “poor” diets were approximately 1% and 38% in the south and north, respectively. Nutrient adequacy was assessed by converting 24 h dietary recall into nutrient supply and comparing the results to the requirement. While macronutrient balance appeared adequate in the pooled sample, it became unacceptable when the two regions were considered separately. Most micronutrient supplies were insufficient. Cereals were the main nutrient sources, and leaves of crops and potash (additive containing potassium) were also non-negligible for micronutrient supplies. Overall, we found large regional differences in nutrition and food security, indicating that various local contexts must be considered for effective nutritional improvement. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Insecurity, Diet Quality and Human Health)

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15 pages, 961 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Social Determinants of Rural Household Food Insecurity under the Taliban Regime

by Wasiuddin Najam, Temitope Ibiyemi, Sajia Aziz, Rafiuddin Najam, Wanjiku N. Gichohi-Wainaina and Wilna Oldewage-Theron

Nutrients 2023, 15(7), 1681; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15071681 - 30 Mar 2023

Cited by 2 | Viewed by 3471

Abstract

Despite the severity of food insecurity in Afghanistan, little is known about the factors contributing to household food insecurity (HFI) under the Taliban regime. Therefore, this paper investigated the social determinants of severe HFI in rural areas of Afghanistan. We used the fifth-round survey of 6019 rural households from 25 provinces, collected between July and August 2022 by the Food and Agriculture Organization. We used binary logistic regression to examine the association between household characteristics and HFI. The majority of household heads were male (97.8%) with no education (62.8%). The findings showed that female-headed households had significantly higher odds of severe HFI. Household heads with any level of formal education had significantly reduced odds of severe HFI, while the odds of severe HFI was not different among those with religious/informal household-head education compared to those with no education. Likewise, engagement in any type of agricultural activity decreased the odds of severe HFI. Additionally, household income per member was negatively, while household size was positively associated with severe HFI. In summary, interventions to alleviate HFI among rural households should prioritize income-generating opportunities and skills targeting households with female heads, low levels of household-head education, larger size, no agricultural activities, and low income. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Insecurity, Diet Quality and Human Health)

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12 pages, 514 KiB

Open AccessArticle

Dietary Costs among Midwestern Adult Food-Pantry Users by Food-Security Status

by Agustina Fainguersch, Aaron J. Dewar, Lacey A. McCormack and Heather A. Eicher-Miller

Nutrients 2023, 15(3), 680; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030680 - 29 Jan 2023

Viewed by 1638

Abstract

Evidence of the relationship between dietary cost, diet quality, and socio-economic status is mixed. No studies have directly evaluated food-security status and dietary cost. This study investigated whether food-pantry clients with low and very low food-security status had less expensive daily diets than food-secure clients by comparing total cost, cost per gram, and cost per calorie of total daily dietary intake both per person and by individual food item, followed by evaluations of each food group. Mixed-model regression and Tukey–Kramer comparisons were used to compare food-security groups. There was no clear association between food-security status and cost of daily diet. Analyzed per person, total price and price per gram showed significant differences between low food-secure and food-secure groups. When analyzing individual food items, prices per calorie were significantly different between food-secure and very low food-secure groups. The directionality of the relationships by food-security status was inconsistent. Per person, those with lower food security had lower mean prices, and for individual foods this association was reversed. Therefore, the metric of food cost and the unit of analysis are critical to determining the relationship between food-security status and dietary cost. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Insecurity, Diet Quality and Human Health)

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18 pages, 1426 KiB

Open AccessArticle

The Impact of the COVID-19 Pandemic on the Food Security of UK Adults Aged 20–65 Years (COVID-19 Food Security and Dietary Assessment Study)

by Michelle Thomas, Elizabeth Eveleigh, Zeynep Vural, Peter Rose, Amanda Avery, Lisa Coneyworth and Simon Welham

Nutrients 2022, 14(23), 5078; https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14235078 - 29 Nov 2022

Viewed by 2869

Abstract

The first UK lockdown greatly impacted the food security status of UK adults. This study set out to establish if food procurement was adapted differently for different income groups and if this impacted dietary intakes disproportionately. Adults (n = 515) aged 20–65 years participated in an online survey with 56 completing a 3–4 day diet diary. Food availability was a significant factor in the experience of food insecurity. Similar proportions of food secure and food insecure adapted food spend during lockdown, spending similar amounts. Food insecure (n = 85, 18.3%) had a 10.5% lower income and the money spent on food required a greater proportion of income. Access to food was the biggest driver of food insecurity but monetary constraint was a factor for the lowest income group. The relative risk of food insecurity increased by 0.07-fold for every 1% increase in the proportion of income spent on food above 10%. Micronutrient intakes were low compared to the reference nutrient intake (RNI) for most females, with riboflavin being 36% lower in food insecure groups (p = 0.03), whilst vitamin B12 was 56% lower (p = 0.057) and iodine 53.6% lower (p = 0.257) these were not significant. Coping strategies adopted by food insecure groups included altering the quantity and variety of fruit and vegetables which may have contributed to the differences in micronutrients. Full article

(This article belongs to the Special Issue Food Insecurity, Diet Quality and Human Health)

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