Food Insecurity and the Negative Impact on Brazilian Children's Health-Why Does Food Security Matter for Our Future Prosperity? Brazilian National Survey (PNDS 2006/07).

BACKGROUND

Food insecurity (FI) refers to limited or uncertain access to food resulting from financial constraints. Numerous studies have shown association between FI and adverse health outcomes among adults and children around the world, but in Brazil, such information is scarce, especially if referring to nationally representative information.

OBJECTIVE

To test for an independent association between FI and health outcomes.

METHODS

Most recent Brazilian Demographic and Health Survey using nationally representative complex probability sampling. Participants were 3923 children <5 years of age, each representing a household. Data from the validated Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale were dichotomized as food secure (food security/mild FI) or food insecure (moderate FI/severe FI). Poisson regression was used to test for associations between FI and various health indicators.

RESULTS

Models adjusted for socioeconomic and demographic variables showed that children hospitalized for pneumonia or diarrhea were 30% more prevalent in FI households (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]: 1.3; 1.1-1.6). Underweight children were 40% more prevalent in FI households (aPR: 1.4; 1.1-1.7). Children who didn't eat meat and fruits and vegetables every day were 20% and 70% more prevalent in FI households (aPR: 1.2; 1.1-1.4 and aPR: 1.7; 1.3-2.3), respectively.

CONCLUSION

Children who grow up in food-insecure households have been shown to have worse health conditions than those in food-secure households. Consequently, their human capital accumulation and work-life productivity are likely to be reduced in the future, leading them into adulthood less capable of generating sufficient income, resulting in a cycle of intergenerational poverty and FI.