Program for Research and Outreach-Engagement on Nutrition and Health Disparities, Texas A&M School of Rural Public Health, MS 1266, College Station, TX 77843-1266, USA.
BMC Pediatr. 2013 Sep 13;13:143. doi: 10.1186/1471-2431-13-143.
Nutritional health is essential for children's growth and development. Many Mexican-origin children who reside in limited-resource colonias along the Texas-Mexico border are at increased risk for poor nutrition as a result of household food insecurity. However, little is known about the prevalence of child hunger or its associated factors among children of Mexican immigrants. This study determines the prevalence of child hunger and identifies protective and risk factors associated with it in two Texas border areas.
This study uses 2009 Colonia Household and Community Food Resource Assessment (C-HCFRA) data from 470 mothers who were randomly recruited by promotora-researchers. Participants from colonias near two small towns in two South Texas counties participated in an in-home community and household assessment. Interviewer-administered surveys collected data in Spanish on sociodemographics, federal food assistance program participation, and food security status. Frequencies and bivariate correlations were examined while a random-effects logistic regression model with backward elimination was used to determine correlates of childhood hunger.
Hunger among children was reported in 51% (n = 239) of households in this C-HCFRA sample. Bivariate analyses revealed that hunger status was associated with select maternal characteristics, such as lower educational attainment and Mexican nativity, and household characteristics, including household composition, reliance on friend or neighbor for transportation, food purchase at dollar stores and from neighbors, and participation in school-based nutrition programs. A smaller percentage of households with child hunger participated in school-based nutrition programs (51%) or used alternative food sources, while 131 households were unable to give their child or children a balanced meal during the school year and 145 households during summer months. In the random effects model (RE = small town), increased household composition, full-time unemployment, and participation in the National School Lunch Program were significantly associated with increased odds for child hunger, while participation in Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP) and purchasing food from a neighbor were significantly associated with decreased odds for child hunger.
This study not only emphasizes the alarming rates of child hunger among this sample of Mexican-origin families, but also identifies economic and family factors that increased the odds for child hunger as well as community strategies that reduced the odds. It is unsettling that so many children did not participate in school-based nutrition programs, and that many who participated in federal nutrition assistance programs remained hungry. This study underscores the importance of identifying the presence of child hunger among low-income Mexican-origin children in Texas border colonias and increasing access to nutrition-related resources. Hunger-associated health inequities at younger ages among colonia residents are likely to persist across the life span and into old age.
营养健康对于儿童的成长和发育至关重要。许多居住在德克萨斯州-墨西哥边境有限资源的移民聚居区的墨西哥裔儿童，由于家庭食物无保障，面临着营养不良的高风险。然而，对于墨西哥移民儿童的饥饿患病率及其相关因素知之甚少。本研究旨在确定德克萨斯州两个边境地区儿童饥饿的患病率，并确定与之相关的保护因素和风险因素。
本研究使用了 2009 年来自 470 名母亲的科利纳家庭和社区食品资源评估（C-HCFRA）数据，这些母亲是由社区健康促进者随机招募的。来自两个德克萨斯州南部县两个小镇附近的移民聚居区的参与者参加了家庭和社区评估。调查员管理的调查以西班牙语收集了社会人口统计学、联邦食品援助计划参与情况和粮食安全状况的数据。在使用后向消除法的随机效应逻辑回归模型中，检查了频率和双变量相关性，以确定儿童饥饿的相关性。
在本 C-HCFRA 样本中，有 51%（n=239）的家庭报告儿童饥饿。双变量分析显示，饥饿状况与母亲的一些特征有关，如受教育程度较低和墨西哥出生，以及家庭特征，包括家庭构成、依赖朋友或邻居的交通、在一元店和邻居处购买食物，以及参与学校营养计划。报告儿童饥饿的家庭中，参与学校营养计划（51%）或使用替代食物来源的比例较小，而 131 个家庭在学年期间无法为孩子提供均衡膳食，145 个家庭在夏季无法提供均衡膳食。在随机效应模型（RE=小镇）中，家庭构成增加、全职失业和参与国家学校午餐计划与儿童饥饿的几率增加显著相关，而参与补充营养援助计划（SNAP）和从邻居处购买食物与儿童饥饿的几率降低显著相关。
本研究不仅强调了在墨西哥裔家庭样本中儿童饥饿的惊人发生率，还确定了增加儿童饥饿几率的经济和家庭因素，以及减少儿童饥饿几率的社区策略。令人不安的是，如此多的儿童没有参加学校营养计划，而许多参加联邦营养援助计划的儿童仍然饥饿。本研究强调了在德克萨斯州边境移民聚居区识别低收入墨西哥裔儿童中存在儿童饥饿的重要性，并增加获得与营养相关的资源。聚居区居民在年轻时与饥饿相关的健康不平等现象很可能会持续一生，并延续到老年。
