Rosas Lisa G, Harley Kim, Fernald Lia C H, Guendelman Sylvia, Mejia Fabiola, Neufeld Lynnette M, Eskenazi Brenda
Center on Social Disparities in Health, University of California, San Francisco, CA, USA
J Am Diet Assoc. 2009 Dec;109(12):2001-9. doi: 10.1016/j.jada.2009.09.004.
BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVE: Children of Mexican descent frequently experience household food insecurity both in the United States and Mexico. However, little is known about the associations of food insecurity with dietary intake. This study aimed to understand the level of perceived food insecurity and its association with dietary intake among children of Mexican descent residing in the United States and Mexico.
This cross-sectional study utilized data from a 2006 binational study of 5-year-old children of Mexican descent living in migrant communities in California and Mexico.
In California, children were 301 participants from the Center for the Health Assessment of Mothers and Children of Salinas study, a longitudinal birth cohort in a Mexican immigrant community. Mexican children (n=301) were participants in the Proyecto Mariposa study, which was designed to capture a sample of women and their children living in Mexico who closely resembled the California sample, yet who never migrated to the United States. Household food insecurity was measured using the US Department of Agriculture Food Security Scale and dietary intake was assessed with food frequency questionnaires. Analysis of variance was used to examine unadjusted and adjusted differences in total energy, nutrient intake, and consumption of food groups by household food security status.
Approximately 39% of California mothers and 75% of Mexico mothers reported low or very low food security in the past 12 months (P<0.01). Children in the United States experiencing food insecurity consumed more fat, saturated fat, sweets, and fried snacks than children not experiencing food insecurity. In contrast, in Mexico food insecurity was associated with lower intake of total carbohydrates, dairy, and vitamin B-6.
Programs and policies addressing food insecurity in the United States and Mexico may need to take steps to address dietary intake among children in households experiencing food insecurity, possibly through education and programs to increase resources to obtain healthful foods.
背景/目的：在美国和墨西哥，墨西哥裔儿童经常面临家庭粮食不安全问题。然而，关于粮食不安全与饮食摄入之间的关联，人们了解甚少。本研究旨在了解居住在美国和墨西哥的墨西哥裔儿童所感知的粮食不安全程度及其与饮食摄入的关联。
本横断面研究利用了2006年一项针对居住在加利福尼亚州和墨西哥移民社区的5岁墨西哥裔儿童的双边研究数据。
在加利福尼亚州，301名儿童参与了萨利纳斯母婴健康评估中心的研究，该研究是墨西哥移民社区的一个纵向出生队列。墨西哥的301名儿童参与了“蝴蝶计划”研究，该研究旨在选取居住在墨西哥的妇女及其子女作为样本，这些人与加利福尼亚州的样本相似，但从未移民到美国。家庭粮食不安全状况采用美国农业部粮食安全量表进行衡量，饮食摄入通过食物频率问卷进行评估。方差分析用于检验按家庭粮食安全状况划分的总能量、营养素摄入量和食物组消费量的未调整和调整差异。
在过去12个月中，约39%的加利福尼亚州母亲和75%的墨西哥母亲报告粮食安全水平低或极低（P<0.01）。在美国，经历粮食不安全的儿童比未经历粮食不安全的儿童摄入更多的脂肪、饱和脂肪、甜食和油炸零食。相比之下，在墨西哥，粮食不安全与总碳水化合物、乳制品和维生素B-6的摄入量较低有关。
美国和墨西哥解决粮食不安全问题的项目和政策可能需要采取措施，解决粮食不安全家庭中儿童的饮食摄入问题，可能通过教育和增加获取健康食品资源的项目来实现。
