Prevalence of food insecurity among households with children in Coimbatore, India

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the prevalence of food insecurity and dietary pattern among households with and without children in Coimbatore, India. Fifty six percent of the households without children were food secure, 20% were food insecure with out hunger, 23% were food insecure with moderate hunger and 1% reported food insecurity with severe hunger. In comparison, 43% of households with children were food secure, 13% were food insecure without hunger, 15% were food insecure with moderate hunger and 30% reported food insecurity with severe hunger ( p < 0.05). Seventy six percent of the participants ate regularly while 24% had irregular meal pattern ( p < 0.05). All the participants failed to consume diets that conform to the national dietary recommendations. The frequency of fruits, vegetables, dairy and meat product consumption was lower than the national standard even without the presence of food insecurity.