Predictive power of indicators to the perception of food and nutritional insecurity in the Bolsa Família Program

Daiane Roncato Cardozo,Luiz Fernando De Oriani E Paulillo,Vera Mariza Henriques De Miranda Costa,Luiz Manoel De Moraes Camargo Almeida,Sinara Laurini Rossato,Maria Rita Marques De Oliveira

doi:10.1590/0104-530x5168-20

Abstract

Abstract: The objective was to analyze the predictive power of indicators of the perception of food and nutritional insecurity comparing beneficiary and non - beneficiary families of the Bolsa Família Program, through a cross - sectional study with 150 families. Demographic, socioeconomic, food insecurity (Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale), nutritional status (Body Mass Index) and household consumption patterns were collected. The correlation between the demographic, socioeconomic, nutritional status and level of food insecurity were tested using the Pearson correlation coefficient; the association with Chi-square and ANOVA tests; and the prevalence ratio and 95% confidence intervals with Poisson Regression model. The predictive power of indicators of food insecurity was evaluated with the ROC curve. Patterns of food consumption, demographic and health characteristics were not significantly correlated with food insecurity. In the analyzes with the ROC curve, among the beneficiary families, the income derived only from the Bolsa Família and the Renda Cidadã Program with the Bolsa Família presented a better predictive power of food insecurity, covering the curve by 70%, followed by the difference between the income from wages and rent and gas (70%). The proportions of the total income of families spent on rent and gas had low predictive power (67%). Income components, mainly rent and gas spending, showed a better performance in the prediction of food insecurity among beneficiaries of Bolsa Família, and could be a complementary quantitative indicator to the Brazilian Scale of Food Insecurity.

Highlights

The human right to adequate food, food sovereignty and food and nutritional security (FNS) are concepts that have been built and improved worldwide since the beginning of the 20th century with the creation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to fight hunger and achieve greater social justice, health and quality of life of the population
Based on the analysis of the data of the responses of the families participating in the study (Table 1), 25% of the beneficiaries of the BFP were classified as food security (FS)/light food insecurity (LFI) among the families participating in the study, while 62% of the families that were not beneficiaries had moderate food insecurity (MFI)/severe food insecurity (SFI)
It was observed that 76% of the families that spent less than 15% of the total income with gas and rent were in MFI/SFI, whereas only 24% of these families were FS/LFI (p = 0.02)

Summary

Introduction

The human right to adequate food, food sovereignty and food and nutritional security (FNS) are concepts that have been built and improved worldwide since the beginning of the 20th century with the creation of the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), to fight hunger and achieve greater social justice, health and quality of life of the population Examples are health programs in schools, supplementation, supply (basic food baskets, popular restaurants, banks, vegetable gardens, and communal kitchens), financing (National Program for Strengthening Family Agriculture - NPSFA), and income transfer, like the Bolsa Família Program - BFP (Brasil, 2017)

Results

Discussion

Conclusion