Abstract
Inadequate food and nutrition affect human well-being, particularly for many poor subpopulations living in rural areas. The purpose of this research was to analyze the factors that determine the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) in the rural area of the Paute River Basin, Azuay Province, Ecuador. The sample size of 383 surveys was determined by a stratified random sampling method with proportional affixation. Dietary diversity was measured through the HDDS, with 12 food groups (cereals; roots and tubers; fruits; sugar/honey; meat and eggs; legumes or grains; vegetables; oils/fats; milk and dairy products; meats; miscellaneous; fish and shellfish) over a recall period of 7 days. A Poisson regression model was used to determine the relationship between the HDDS and sociodemographic variables. The results show that the average HDDS of food consumption is 10.89 foods. Of the analyzed food groups, the most consumed are cereals; roots and tubers; fruits; sugar/honey. In addition, the determinants that best explain the HDDS in the predictive model were housing size, household size, per capita food expenditure, area of cultivated land, level of education, and marital status of the head of household. The tools used in this research can be used to analyze food and nutrition security interventions. Furthermore, the results allow policymakers to identify applicable public policies in the fight against hunger.
Highlights
Introduction2019, about 690 million people around the world were malnourished
A United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) report [1] indicates that in2019, about 690 million people around the world were malnourished
In the global literature and that of Latin America (LA), various studies focus on dietary diversity and the Household Dietary Diversity Score (HDDS) [5,32,44,45,46,47], presenting important findings that can be compared with the results of the present study
Summary
2019, about 690 million people around the world were malnourished. This situation can be aggravated in developing countries and especially in rural sectors, which show the highest concentration of poor people. The causes of malnourishment are varied, but it occurs more where there is evidence of an increase in food insecurity, often related to the presence of climate change phenomena. In 2018, Latin America (LA) experienced an increase in the number of people living in a situation of hunger, reaching 42.5 million people [2], a number that may be even higher in 2020 due to the contraction of the economy caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. In the region of LA, post-COVID-19 projections indicate a decrease in the well-being of the population. A decrease in the ability of households to access healthy and nutritious food is expected, due to a reduction in family income [4]
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