Abstract
BackgroundFood insecurity (FI) is alarmingly high in developing countries including Pakistan. A quarter of Pakistan’s population consists of adolescents yet there is no information on their experience of FI. FI at adolescent age have long term effect on mental and physical health hence we aimed to determine the prevalence of food insecurity (FI) among adolescents and compare it with household FI, and assess social determinants of adolescent FI.MethodsA cross-sectional survey on 799 households with unmarried adolescents was conducted from September 2015 to June 2016 in three union councils of Hyderabad, Pakistan. Unmarried 10–19 years old girls and boys were interviewed regarding their FI status using Household Food Insecurity Assessment Scale (HFIAS). Household-level FI was also assessed by interviewing mothers of adolescents, and it was compared with adolescent’s FI. Association of adolescent’s FI with socio-demographic determinants was explored through Cox regression using STATA version 14.0. and prevalence ratios were estimated.ResultsFI was found among 52.4% of the adolescents compared to 39% of the households. Thirty percent of the adolescents were food insecure within the food secure households. Female adolescents were found to be less food insecure (Adjusted Prevalence Ratio (APR) 0.4 95% CI [0.3, 0.5]) compared to males. Social determinants like socioeconomic status (SES), crowding index or education of parents were not associated with adolescents’ FI.ConclusionHalf of the adolescents were found to be food insecure which raises concerns regarding their health in the long run. Gender is an important social determinant of FI among adolescents which suggests an in-depth exploration of social dynamics of adolescent FI. We recommend the mixed-methods study to develop contextually relevant interventions to reduce FI among this group and improve their health status.
Highlights
Food insecurity (FI) is alarmingly high in developing countries including Pakistan
We observed that FI is higher among adolescents (52%) compared to households (39%), gender is significantly associated with food insecurity of adolescents and it is more prevalent among boys
Literature reports that adolescents voluntarily cut-down their portion size during food shortages which at times go unnoticed by adults of the family [38]
Summary
Food insecurity (FI) is alarmingly high in developing countries including Pakistan. A quarter of Pakistan’s population consists of adolescents yet there is no information on their experience of FI. Studies have reported that food insecurity at adolescent stage Pakistan has been categorized among high-risk countries for FI by the Global Food Security Index (GFSI) 2019 [7]. On average 48% of Pakistan’s population is food insecure and with comparatively high FI in rural areas (60.6% rural vs 52.4% urban) [8]. Current literature on FI from Pakistan and other south Asian countries is focused on women and children under 5 years of age [9,10,11,12]. Data on effects of FI on adolescents is scarce globally compared to data on children.
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