Household Food Insecurity and Obesity Risk in an Urban Slum in Brazil

Abstract

Chronic diseases are growing among the poor. Household food insecurity (HFI) may partly explain this trend as individuals experiencing it may cope by consuming low‐cost high‐calorie meals with little nutritive value. This study aims to evaluate the prevalence of HFI and assess its relationships with obesity, health status and dietary intake among participants recruited in an urban slum in Salvador, Brazil. Risk for overweight and abdominal obesity was defined per WHO guidelines. HFI was evaluated using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA). A total of 147 heads‐of‐households, defined as those responsible for household food preparation (39.8 ± 10.3 years) were interviewed to assess HFI, self‐reported health and diet, and anthropometry. HFI affected 82.3% of the sample (95% CI: 76.1–88.6%), with 20.4% experiencing severe HFI. A total of 69.3% of the population was either overweight or obese, abdominal obesity affecting 66.4%. Abdominal obesity was significantly associated with severe HFI (p=0.012) and BMI ≥ 25 was marginally associated with moderate (p=0.094) and severe HFI (p=0.069). Moderate/severe HFI was associated with lower fruit intake (p=0.022). Findings suggest that moderate and severe HFI is a risk factor for being overweight/obese and for unhealthy dietary behaviors in this disadvantaged community.This project was funded by the Wilbur G. Downs Fellowship.