Department of Nutritional Sciences, The University of Texas at Austin, Austin, TX 78723, USA.
Michael & Susan Dell Center for Healthy Living, Division of Health Promotion and Behavioral Sciences, University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston (UTHealth, School of Public Health in Austin, Austin, TX 78701, USA.
Nutrients. 2019 Jul 12;11(7):1574. doi: 10.3390/nu11071574.
Food insecurity (FI) is adversely associated with physical and mental wellbeing in children. The mechanism underlying this association is assumed to be dietary intake; however, evidence has been mixed. This study examined the relationship between self-reported FI and dietary quality among low-income children. Cross-sectional data were used from TX Sprouts, a school-based cooking, gardening, and nutrition intervention. A sample of 598 children completed two 24-h dietary recalls and a questionnaire including an adapted version of the 5-item Child Food Security Assessment (CFSA). Food security was categorized as food secure or FI based on summed CFSA scores. Dietary quality was assessed using the Health Eating Index-2015 (HEI-2015). Mixed effects linear regression models examined associations between FI and dietary quality. Children were 64% Hispanic, 55% female, and were 9.2 years old on average. Adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics, BMI percentile, and energy intake, FI was associated with lower HEI-2015 total scores (β = -3.17; 95% CI = -5.28, -1.06; = 0.003). Compared to food secure children, FI children had lower greens and beans (2.3 vs. 1.9, = 0.016), seafood and plant protein (2.0 vs. 1.6, = 0.006), and added sugar (7.4 vs. 8.0, = 0.002) component scores. Interventions targeting low-income and FI children should investigate ways to improve dietary quality.
食物不安全（FI）与儿童身心健康不良有关。这种关联的机制被认为是饮食摄入；然而，证据喜忧参半。本研究调查了低收入儿童自我报告的 FI 与饮食质量之间的关系。横断面数据来自 TX Sprouts，这是一项基于学校的烹饪、园艺和营养干预措施。共有 598 名儿童完成了两次 24 小时饮食回忆和一份问卷，其中包括经过改编的 5 项儿童食物安全评估（CFSA）。根据 CFSA 总分将食物安全分类为食物安全或 FI。使用健康饮食指数-2015（HEI-2015）评估饮食质量。混合效应线性回归模型检查了 FI 与饮食质量之间的关联。儿童中 64%是西班牙裔，55%是女性，平均年龄为 9.2 岁。调整社会人口统计学特征、BMI 百分位数和能量摄入后，FI 与较低的 HEI-2015 总分相关（β=-3.17；95%CI=-5.28，-1.06； = 0.003）。与食物安全的儿童相比，FI 儿童的绿叶蔬菜和豆类（2.3 对 1.9， = 0.016）、海鲜和植物蛋白（2.0 对 1.6， = 0.006）和添加糖（7.4 对 8.0， = 0.002）成分得分较低。针对低收入和 FI 儿童的干预措施应研究改善饮食质量的方法。
