Insecure Groups Research Articles

“Ethnic polarization and the limits of democratic practice”

ABSTRACTWhile several scholars have speculated that ethnic bipolarity, as a particular type of diversity, is related to the weakness of democracy in multiethnic states there exist few studies that test this relationship. This article suggests that ethnic bipolarity, measured as the size difference of the largest politically relevant ethnic communities and as ethno-political polarization, is related to whether a state exhibits tendencies to limit democratic participation. In cases where the size difference between groups is small or polarization is high there exist incentives to limit full democratic contestation. In the face of international and domestic pressures to politically liberalize, numerically dominant yet demographically insecure groups will seek to democratize only enough to satisfy the minimum needs of transparency while preserving their incumbent position. Using a panel of 121 countries between 1991 and 2014, the results of this analysis suggest that ethnic bipolarity and polarization are a strong predictor of whether a state institutionalizes procedures associated with competitive authoritarian regimes.

The Increase in Nutritional Status by Fermented Milk Supplement on Elementary School Children from Fisherman's Village in Bantul, Yogyakarta Province of Indonesia

Abstract: Probiotics drinks, containing Lactobacillus, were rapidly developed because of its benefit to the health. The bacteria reduced the pathogenic microorganism growth such as virus, fungi, and protozoa. The nutritional status is influenced by food intake, immunity and infection. The children of fisherman’s village are included in the insecure nutrition group because of the low social economic status and healthy living behavior. The aim of this research was to know the influence of daily consumption of probiotics in fermented milk to the nutrition status in elementary school children. This research is quasi-experimental with pretest-posttest control group design. Subjects of 95 elementary school children were divided into 2 groups: 62 children as treatment group and 33 children as control group. Determination of nutritional status is based on anthropometry according to CDC 2000 (BMI-age) growth-chart; and the biochemistry parameter consist of the level of serum total protein, albumin, blood urea nitrogen (BUN), urine creatinine and hemoglobin. Determination of serum total protein and BUN were carried out by Microkjeldahl method, hemoglobine by cyanmet hemoglobin method, albumin by dye-binding method, and creatinine level by Jaffe reaction method. The infection status was determined by anamnesis and laboratory examination of feces which was conducted to find the parasite in the stool. Of sixty five ml fermented milk, that contains of 6.5 x 109 Lactobacillus shirota strain, was consumed every day in 37 days. The data was analyzed by Wilcoxon test for nonparametric data and paired T-test for parametric data. The result shows that after the treatment, it increased the nutritional status athropometrically from underweight to normal (12.9%) and overweight to normal (3.23%). In biochemically, it increased the total protein level from 6,111 to 6,705 mg/dL (p=0,001) and decreased the BUN from 42,709 to 41,127 mg/dL (p=0,004) significantly eventhough it was in normal range. The conclusion is that consuming fermented milk for 37 days in children is proven to enhance the nutritional status both by anthropometric and biochemistry parameter. Keywords: probiotic, nutritional status, Lactobacillus, fermented milk supplement

Fatores associados à insegurança alimentar em pessoas que vivem com HIV/AIDS

Objective: To analyze factors associated with food insecurity in people living with HIV/AIDS. Methods: Cross-sectional study carried out with 205 patients treated, from December 2016 to April 2017, at a referral hospital in infectious diseases in the state of Ceara. The study collected socioeconomic (income, occupation, housing conditions, schooling), demographic (sex, age, marital status), and anthropometric (weight and height) data, along with data on habits (use of alcohol, drugs and practice of physical activity) and food safety. Food insecurity was evaluated through the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, and its associations, with use of Pearson’s chi-square test and prevalence ratio. Results: Out of 205 patients, 68.3% (n=140) were men; 56.1% (n=115) were 39 to 58 years old; 61% (n=125) were single; 60% (n=124) were unemployed; 49.8% (n=102) had income lower than 1½ minimum wage; 38.5% (n=79) had studied only up to middle school; 47.3% (n=97) were overweight; 70.7% (n=145) lived with 4 or fewer people; 79.5% (n=163) did not use alcohol; 87.3% (n=179) did not use drugs, and 64.4% (n=132) did not practice any physical activity. Food insecurity was 47.3% (n=97). Of these, 10.7% (n=22) were at a serious level. Statistical associations were found between food insecurity and age group (p = 0.009), schooling (p = 0.013), number of people per household (p < 0.001), and monthly household income (p < 0.001). Conclusion: A high prevalence of food insecurity was observed in the sample, and it was associated with demographic (age) and socioeconomic characteristics (income, schooling and housing conditions).

Prevalence and Factors Affecting Job Strain Among The Managers in Primary Health Care Services in Turkey

Purpose: Stress at work is one of the risk factors of occupational health and safety in industrialized and developing countries. Working in the health care services has been accepted as one of the most stressful jobs. The aim of this study is to define stress and contributing factors of job strain in managers in the primary health care services.Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted to determine prevalence and factors affecting job strain in primary health care managers. A standardized self-administered questionnaire was used for stress assessment with a second questionnaire for socio-demographic factors and working life features. Turkish version of the Swedish Demand Control Questionnaire was used. A total of 55 managers were recruited from Health District in Izmir. A second questionnaire was used to obtain information on socio-demographic and working life features.Results: Among the total of 55 managers, 54 98% responded the questionnaire. The mean age was 40±8 years; 21 39% were insecure or partly secure managers. The job strain was found in 71% of the insecure group compared to 36% more secure managers p=0.026 . The job insecurity was a significant risk factor for job strain OR=4.8, CI=1.4–16.5 .Conclusion: The job insecurity was strongly associated with job strain. The study provides an insight on the prevalence and important factors affecting the job strain among the primary health care managers in Turkey

Migration politics: Mobilizing against economic insecurity in the United States and South Africa

From the mid-2000s, the United States and South Africa, respectively, experienced significant pro-migrant and anti-migrant mobilizations. Economically insecure groups played leading roles. Why did these groups emphasize politics of migration, and to what extent did the very different mobilizations reflect parallel underlying mechanisms? Drawing on 41 months of ethnographic fieldwork and 119 interviews with activists and residents, I argue that the mobilizations deployed two common strategies: symbolic group formation rooted in demands for recognition, and targeting the state as a key source of livelihood. These twin strategies encouraged economically insecure groups to emphasize national identities and, in turn, migration. Yet, they manifested in different types of mobilization due to the varying characteristics of the groups involved, and the different national imaginaries and organizing legacies they had to draw upon. The analysis demonstrates the capacity of economically insecure groups to make collective claims. It also shows that within the context of anti-migrant nationalism, economic insecurity amplifies the significance of national belonging, citizenship, and migration as important terrains of collective struggle.

Application of Noninferiority Tests to Examine the Food Insecurity–Obesity Relationship in Children

ABSTRACTThis study applies noninferiority testing to assess the relationship between child weight and food security status in a sample of 808 children between 3 and 5 years old who were attending an urban, state-funded preschool program. Most families were African American (72.3%). Analyses were conducted using noninferiority testing to evaluate the overweight–food security association. Odds of being overweight in the food insecure (FI) group were 0.643 (95% confidence interval [CI], 0.525 to 0.788) and odds from the food secure (FS) group were 0.570 (odds ratio [OR] = 1.127, 95% CI, 0.464 to 0.697, p = 0.004). These findings held across subgroups of gender, race, and family conflict. Children whose parents indicated education beyond high school showed a reversal with FI odds of overweight less than FS odds (OR = 0.663). As illustrated in this study, noninferiority testing provides an alternative analytic approach to examining the association between FI and weight in children.

Food insecurity and eating disorder pathology.

The primary aim of this study was to investigate eating disorder (ED) pathology in those living with food insecurity. A secondary aim was to investigate whether any-reason dietary restraint, weight self-stigma, and worry increased as level of food insecurity increased. Participants (N = 503) seeking food from food pantries completed questionnaires assessing level of food insecurity, demographics, ED pathology, dietary restraint, weight self-stigma, and worry. Consistent with hypotheses, participants with the highest level of food insecurity (i.e., adults who reported having hungry children in their household) also endorsed significantly higher levels of binge eating, overall ED pathology, any-reason dietary restraint, weight self-stigma, and worry compared to participants with lower levels of food insecurity. Contrary to hypotheses, compensatory behaviors also increased as level of food insecurity worsened. Overall, 17% of those in the child hunger food insecurity group reported clinically significant ED pathology. This is the first study to assess the full spectrum of ED pathology in a low-income, marginalized population with food insecurity. Given that food insecurity is a global concern, results from this study suggest that greater attention to the association between ED pathology and food insecurity is warranted by researchers around the world.

Being unempathic will make your loved ones feel lonelier: Loneliness in an evolutionary perspective

Loneliness has been conceptualized as an alarm against social isolation under an evolutionary theoretical framework. Loneliness, as an adaptive feature, would have to be linked to environmental conditions and not only to the subjective evaluation of our social network. This research investigates lack of received empathy as an environmental trigger of the loneliness alarm. Lack of received empathy could explain previously observed correlations between loneliness and low satisfaction with social relationships, attachment insecurity, and certain age groups like teenagers and the elderly. A well-defined evolutionary model opens up new possibilities for the development of more efficient strategies to reduce loneliness.

Low Birth Weight is More Common in Food Insecure Pregnant Malawian Women with Moderate Malnutrition

AimTo determine if food insecurity for pregnant women with moderate malnutrition (MAM) affects gestational weight gain, infant weight and length.MethodsThis randomized controlled trial enrolled 1872 pregnant women with MAM, defined as mid‐upper arm circumference (MUAC) between 20.6 and 23.0 cm. Women aged 16 to 45 years enrolled at approximately 24 weeks gestation. Household Food Insecurity Access Scale (HFIAS) survey was obtained at enrollment. Women returned every two weeks for measurements and received supplemental foods; each provided ~900 kcals, 35 g protein, and ~2 times the recommended dietary allowance for micronutrients daily. HFIAS score was determined by adding each subject's responses to 9 questions with numerical values (0 = no, 1 = rarely, 2 = sometimes, 3 = often); sum of scores range from 0 to 27. The subjects were categorized by their severity of food insecurity (secure, mild, moderate, or severe) according to Food and Nutrition Technical Assistance (FANTA III) guidelines. Maternal anthropometric measurements (weight, height, MUAC) were taken at enrollment, during follow‐up, and at delivery; hemoglobin was measured at enrollment. Infant measurements (head circumference, length, weight, MUAC) were taken at birth, 6 weeks, and 3 months; z‐scores were calculated to determine low birth weight (LBW) and stunting. Maternal and infant measurements were compared independently against HFIAS categories and questions.ResultsMean sum of HFIAS scores was 10.0 ± 0.05. Most mothers (1318 or 70.4%) were severely food insecure [95 (5.1%) food secure, 81 (4.3%) mildly and 377 (20.2%) moderately food insecure]. Gestational weight gain before delivery, low weekly maternal weight gain, BMI and MUAC were not different by HFIAS category. There was a trend towards less anemia in the most food insecure group (78.5%, 75.3%, 75.1%, 69.8% in secure, mild, moderate and severe, respectively; p = 0.07). LBW was more common in the severely food insecure group (27.0%, 20.9%, 22.7%, 30.4% in secure, mild, moderate, and severe; p=0.0289); there was a trend toward worse birth stunting in the secure group (28.6%, 25.0%, 18.6%, 25.6% in secure, mild, moderate, and severe; p=0.07). Birth length was slightly different amongst groups (46.9 cm, 47.1 cm, 47.4 cm, and 46.9 cm in secure, mild, moderate, and severe; p=0.047). There was no difference between HFIAS category and infant birth MUAC, weight, or head circumference. Infant measures at 6 weeks were no different by HFIAS category, however, infant weight at 3 months was lowest in the severely food insecure families (5.52 kg, 5.60 kg, 5.64 kg, 5.49 kg in secure, mild, moderate, and severe, respectively; p=0.043).ConclusionThe majority of pregnant women with MAM were severely food insecure. Maternal anthropometric measures were not significantly different by HFIAS group. Although all mothers received food and micronutrient supplements during part of pregnancy, low birth weight infants were more common from severely food insecure mothers. The impact of food insecurity during pregnancy continued to impact infant weight at three months.Support or Funding InformationUSAID (FHI360), USAID Feed the Future (Peanut and Micotoxin Innovation Lab), Cal Poly San Luis Obispo Agriculture Research Initiative, US Dairy Export Council, Dairy Research Initiative

Mother-Child Attachment From Infancy to the Preschool Years: Predicting Security and Stability.

Relations between maternal mind-mindedness (appropriate and nonattuned mind-related comments), children's age-2 perspective-taking abilities, and attachment security at 44 (n=165) and 51 (n=128) months were investigated. Nonattuned comments predicted insecure preschool attachment, via insecure 15-month attachment security (44-month attachment) and poorer age-2 perspective-taking abilities (51-month attachment). With regard to attachment stability, higher perspective-taking abilities distinguished the stable secure groups from (a) the stable insecure groups and (b) children who changed from secure to insecure (at trend level). These effects were independent of child gender, stressful life events, and socioeconomic status (SES). The contribution of these findings to our understanding of stability and change in attachment security from infancy to the preschool years is discussed.

Children's awareness concerning emotion regulation strategies: Effects of attachment status

AbstractThe current study evaluated the effects of preschoolers' attachment status on their awareness concerning emotion regulation strategies. A total of 212 children between 3 and 5 years participated in this study and completed two self‐report tasks. The first was the Attachment Story Completion Task (ASCT), which assessed children's internal working models concerning parent–child attachment; the second evaluated children's ability to generate emotion regulation strategies in relation to three negative emotions (anger, sadness, and fear). Statistical analyses involved a mixed models multilinear regression approach controlling for age and gender. The results consistently revealed that the insecure avoidant group was significantly less likely than securely attached children to generate both comforting and self‐regulatory strategies. Surprisingly, the insecure ambivalent group showed no deficits across measured outcomes. When the analyses were conducted separately for each negative emotion, findings for co‐regulatory strategies for fear, and self‐regulatory strategies for anger also suggested that avoidantly attached children exhibited the lowest levels of awareness compared with children from the secure attachment group. These findings stress the importance of children's attachment status, and implicitly, the quality of the parent–child interactions for children's awareness of emotion regulation strategies related to negative emotions.

Abstract TP183: Food Insecurity Screening in Stroke Patients

Introduction: Food insecurity refers to a state of being without reliable access to sufficient quantity of affordable, nutritious food. Food insecurity is gaining recognition as a risk factor for uncontrolled hypertension and diabetes and possibly for stroke. Our hospital serves a population of uninsured and underinsured patients. We sought to determine the prevalence of food insecurity in our population of patients recently discharged from the hospital with stroke. Methods: Patients recently discharged from the hospital with stroke were screened for food insecurity in the neurology stroke clinic from March 23, 2016 to July 28, 2016. Food insecurity screening consisted of validated, two question screening tool. Electronic medical records were reviewed of patients who were screened. Information regarding insurance, zip code, reason for neurology consult, history of hypertension, history of diabetes, history of stroke and BMI were abstracted. Results: A total of 216 neurology patients were screened. Forty-nine patients (22.7%) were identified as food insecure. Sixty-four patients presented to the neurology clinic for diagnosis of stroke. Twelve of these (18.8%) were found to be food insecure. In this food insecure stroke group, 11/12 (84.6%) were diagnosed with hypertension, 7/12 (58.3%) had diabetes, and 2/12 (16.7%) had previous diagnosis of stroke. In the food secure stroke group, 35/52 (67.3%) had diagnosis of hypertension, 15/52 (28.8%) had diagnosis of diabetes, and 11/52 (21.2%) had previous diagnosis of stroke. Conclusions: Food insecurity is a prevalent issue in our patient population. Food insecurity may lead to an increased risk of stroke risk factors such as diabetes and hypertension and complicate their management. Understanding the magnitude of the problem may allow considered interventions.

The Role of Social Networks as Survival Strategies in Agro-Pastoral Communities in Arid And Semi-Arid Lands in Tanzania

Agro-pastoral communities in semi-arid areas of Tanzania are among the most food insecure groups in the country. In the absence of precisely stipulated mitigation measures from the government the agro-pastoralists have, all across their history relied on social networks for their survival. This paper seeks to examine in detail the role of social networks as survival strategies in coping up with food insecurity among agro-pastoral communities in Arid and semi-arid areas of Tanzania. Based on data and information that was collected through focus group discussions and in-depth interviews in three villages of Sejeli, Mtumba and Makoja it is reported that social networks have been significant in sustaining livelihoods of vulnerable households. These traditional social networks are based on mutual trust and organized on consanguine and kinship ties and through these networks wealth and riches are shared by the agro-pastoral communities. The findings further reveal that these traditional social networks do better than the externally induced initiatives. It has also been revealed that, despite facing a myriad of challenges such as competition for labor, lack of entrepreneurial skills and negative impacts of commercialization of livelihoods on food security the traditional social networks are surviving albeit with hitches. It is recommended that policy interventions that seek to construct resilience of the vulnerable households need to consider traditional systems of social networking.

Attachment Representations and Brain Asymmetry during the Processing of Autobiographical Emotional Memories in Late Adolescence.

Frontal and parietal asymmetries have repeatedly been shown to be related to specific functional mechanisms involved in emotion regulation. From a developmental perspective, attachment representations based on experiences with the caregiver are theorized to serve regulatory functions and influence how individuals deal with emotionally challenging situations throughout the life span. This study aimed to investigate neural substrates of emotion regulation by assessing state- and trait dependent EEG asymmetries in secure, insecure-dismissing and insecure-preoccupied subjects. The sample consisted of 40 late adolescents. The Adult Attachment Interview was administered and they were asked to report upon personally highly salient emotional memories related to anger, happiness and sadness. EEG was recorded at rest and during the retrieval of each of these emotional memories, and frontal and parietal hemispheric asymmetry were analyzed. We found attachment representations to differentially affect both the frontal and parietal organization of hemispheric asymmetry at rest and (for parietal region only) during the retrieval of emotional memories. During rest, insecure-dismissing subjects showed an elevated right-frontal brain activity and a reduced right-parietal brain activity. We interpret this finding in light of a disposition to use withdrawal strategies and low trait arousal in insecure-dismissing subjects. Emotional memory retrieval did not affect frontal asymmetry. However, both insecure groups showed an increase in right-sided parietal activity indicating increased arousal during the emotional task as compared to the resting state suggesting that their emotion regulation capability was especially challenged by the retrieval of emotional memories while securely attached subjects maintained a state of moderate arousal. The specific neurophysiological pattern of insecure-dismissing subjects is discussed with regard to a vulnerability to affective disorders.

A Reaction Time Experiment on Adult Attachment: The Development of a Measure for Neurophysiological Settings.

In the last few decades, there has been an increase of experimental research on automatic unconscious processes concerning the evaluation of the self and others. Previous research investigated implicit aspects of romantic attachment using self-report measures as explicit instruments for assessing attachment style. There is a lack of experimental procedures feasible for neurobiological settings. We developed a reaction time (RT) experiment using a narrative attachment measure with an implicit nature and were interested to capture automatic processes, when the individuals’ attachment system is activated. We aimed to combine attachment methodology with knowledge from implicit measures by using a decision RT paradigm. This should serve as a means to capture implicit aspects of attachment. This experiment evaluated participants’ response to prototypic attachment sentences in association with their own attachment classification, measured with the Adult Attachment Projective Picture System (AAP). First the AAP was administered as the standardized interview procedure to 30 healthy participants, which were classified into a secure or insecure group. In the following experimental session, both experimenter and participants were blind with respect to classifications. One hundred twenty eight prototypically secure or insecure sentences related to the eight pictures of the AAP were presented to the participants. Their response and RTs were recorded. Based on the response (accept, reject) a continuous security scale was defined. Both the AAP classification and security scale were related to the RTs. Differentiated study hypotheses were confirmed for insecure sentences, which were accepted faster by participants from the insecure attachment group (or with lower security scale), and rejected faster by participants from secure attachment group (or with higher security scale). The elaborating unconscious processes were more activated by insecure sentences with potential attachment conflicts. The introduced paradigm is able to contribute to an experimental approach in attachment research. The RT analysis with the narrative procedure might be of interest for a broader variety of questions in experimental and neurophysiological settings to capture unconscious processes in association with internal working models of attachment. An electrophysiological model based on preliminary research is proposed for assessing the preconscious neuronal network related to secure or insecure attachment representations.

FOOD SECURITY: EFFECT ON PEROXISOME PROLIFERATOR-ACTIVATED RECEPTOR GAMMA (PPARY) AND BMI AMONG YOUNG ADULT

Food security status is a method used to differentiate food secure and food insecure experience. Throughout our lives, nutritious food and lifestyle are closely related with most lifestyle-associated illness. This study investigated young adults in both groups to determine molecular changes on gene expression of peroxisome proliferator-activated receptor-gamma (PPARγ). PPARγ plays an important role in adipocyte differentiation, fatty acids, and insulin sensitivity. Increase of PPARγ expression help to improve metabolic indices in dysregulated metabolism associated with obesity, diabetes, and cardiovascular disease. There are no significant differences (P&gt;0.05) of PPARγ expression and BMI for both groups. However, expression of PPARγ is detected in earlier amplification for food insecure group. Mean of BMI (20.70± 3.025) is also slightly higher in food insecure group than food secure. Conclusively, there are some effects on expression of PPARγ and BMI based on food security status.

Food insecurity and poor diet quality are associated with reduced quality of life in older adults

AbstractAimThe aim of this study was to examine the relationships of food security and diet quality with health related quality of life (HRQoL) in a cohort of older Australians.MethodsData were collected as part of the Blue Mountains Eye Study, a cohort study of community‐living individuals aged 49 years and over. A 12‐item food security survey, the Short‐form 36‐item (SF‐36) health survey, assessing four physical and four mental domains of HRQoL, and a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) were completed by 2642 participants. The Total Diet Score (TDS) (maximum score 20) measured diet quality based on food intake from the FFQ. Analysis of covariance compared adjusted mean differences in SF‐36 scores between (i) food secure and food insecure groups and; (ii) quartiles of TDS. Higher SF‐36 scores indicated better physical and mental health.ResultsAcross all SF‐36, domains scores were significantly lower in the food insecure group compared to the food secure group. Adjusted mean differences ranged from 4.01 (95% confidence intervals (CIs): 1.64, 6.38) to 18.00 (95% CIs: 13.43, 22.56). Individuals in the lowest quartile of TDS had significantly lower SF‐36 scores compared to those in the highest TDS quartile for physical functioning domain (4.46, 95% CIs: 1.67, 7.26) and vitality domain (4.14, 95% CIs: 1.34, 6.95).ConclusionsThe study findings provide evidence of associations between reduced physical and mental health and food insecurity and poor diet quality, respectively. Further research into food insecurity in the ageing population is required to ensure that good health is maintained through appropriate health and community services.

한국 성인의 식품안정성과 우울증 연관성

Food insecurity is associated with poor health outcomes. In particular, previous studies marked the adverse outcomes on mental health. This study examined the association of food insecurity and mental health in Korean adults using the data from the 2013 Korean National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The study population was 5,685 adults in Korea. Food insecurity was examined using 18-items. A diagnosis of depression was considered to be depression. Depressive symptoms were defined as more than 2 weeks of depression feelings. Multivariate logistic regression models examined the associations between food insecurity and depression and depressive symptom. The overall prevalence of depression was 3.8% in the participants. Food insecurity was associated significantly with depression and depressive symptom in the unadjusted and age and sex adjusted model. Food insecurity was associated with depression, depressive symptoms in the multivariate logistic regression model (OR:3.49, OR:3.70). Marginal food insecurity was not associated with depression in the multivariate logistic regression model. The results showed that food insecurity is associated with depression and depressive symptoms in adults. Multi-disciplinary interventions are needed including nutrition, health, health policy, and a healthy environment for the food insecurity group to achieve a better health outcome, especially mental health.

Child-specific food insecurity and its sociodemographic and nutritional determinants among Iranian schoolchildren

ABSTRACTDespite strong evidence of the prevalence of food insecurity in adults and households with children in different areas of Iran, the prevalence of child-specific food insecurity in Iran and especially in Tabriz has not been evaluated. Therefore, the objective of the current study is to evaluate the prevalence of food insecurity in schoolchildren and to identify its social, demographic, and nutritional determinants in Tabriz, Iran. This cross-sectional study was conducted between April and September 2014 among 330 schoolchildren aged 7–11 years comprising 170 boys and 160 girls from ten public schools in Tabriz, Iran. Demographic and socioeconomic factors had been obtained from participants. Food security status was assessed by an eight-item U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) Food Security Module previously validated for use in Iran. Dietary information was obtained by a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ). In our findings, the prevalence of food insecurity among children was 30% with 29.1% being low food secure and 0.9% being very low food secure. Mean weight for age Z-score (WAZ) in the food insecure group was significantly lower than in the food secure group. The prevalence of food insecurity was more prevalent in boys (p = .006). Food insecure children had a significantly lower intake of energy, carbohydrate, protein, and meat (p < .001) and higher prevalence of wasting compared with their counterparts in the food secure group (p = .004). These results suggest a proportionally high prevalence of food insecurity in schoolchildren in Tabriz and its significant association with poor nutritional status and dietary habits. Our findings also ensures the necessity of nutritional support programs and nutritional education in Iranian low-income families to improve their overall health.

Assessment of Food Security Status with lipid profile and body mass index in patients with type 2 diabetes

Food insecurity is defined as limited or uncertain availability of adequate and safe food for an active and healthy life at all times. Diabetes is the most common metabolic disease that has recently been proposed as a health priority in Iran. Recent studies have indicated widespread food insecurity and diabetes in the population of Iran. This study aimed to investigate the relationship between food security with serum lipids and body mass index in type 2 diabetic patients who were referred to diabetes centers of Tehran. This descriptive study included 243 individuals over 25 years old with type 2 diabetes who were selected from two diabetes center in south and east of Tehran. The required information was collected by demographic and validated 18-item food security questionnaire that was proposed by United States Department of Agriculture (USDA). ANOVA and Chi-squared test were used for data analysis. 31% of diabetic patients were located in the food secure group, 59.7% were among insecure group without hunger and 8.6% of patients were in the insecure group with hunger. No significant relationship was observed between food security with lipid profiles and body mass index of type 2 diabetic patients (p>0.05). No significant relationship was seen between food security with lipid profile and body mass index in patients with type 2 diabetes. Due to the high prevalence of food insecurity in patients with type 2 diabetes, applying a longitudinal study in this area is recommended.