RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN FOOD INSECURITY AND NUTRITIONAL STATUS OF MAHDI ABAD SHIRAZ CHILDREN UNDER THE AGE OF FIVE.

Background and Aim: The aim of this study was to investigate the relationship between food insecurity and nutritional status of Mahdiabad Shiraz children.Methods: the analyzed variables were obtained in this study, including nutritional indices, food insecurity and other socioeconomic and demographic variables. The height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height indices were evaluated as the Z-score of the World Health Organization reference curves. Food insecurity was defined by using the Mahdiabad Shiraz Food Insecurity Scale. Averages of three indices according to the presence of food insecurity were analyzed, including other variables. Linear regression evaluated the effect of food insecurity on the Z-score of the three nutritional indices.Results: The sample included 357 children, out of whom 48% had deficit in height, 17% were overweight and 25% had food insecurity. It was found that the average of height-for-age, weight-for-age and weight-for-height were -0.41, 0.32 and 0.50, respectively, being lower among children with food insecurity.Conclusion: The regression analysis showed that children living with some level of food insecurity have worse rates of height-for-age, even controlling for demographic and socioeconomic factors.

کلیدواژه ها:

food insecurity ، nutritional status ، under five children