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Assessment of food security status and its socio– economic factors in households of Kerman, Iran


Journal of Nutritional Health & Food Engineering
Fatemeh Nazari Robati,1 Parvin Ekhlaspour,2 Sajjad Tezerji3

Abstract

Background: Food security at the individual, family, national, regional and global levels is achievable when all people at all times have the physical and economic access to adequate, healthy and nutritious food to meet their nutritional needs and priorities for a healthy and active life. The purpose of this study was to investigate the food security status and its related socio–economic factors in the households of Kerman province in 2019. Methods: This descriptive cross–sectional study was performed on 702 households with health records in 3 health community sites located in three districts of Baft city. Subjects were randomly selected using a list of households covered by each center. The socio– economic questionnaires as well as a valid USDA 18–item food security questionnaire were completed. Results: The mean of body weight was 63.3±4.0 kg, height of 160.4±0.2 cm and body mass index were 24.6±0.1. Participants were divided into four levels of food security based on their scores. Most were classified as mild insecurity and lowest in food insecurity. Households with a higher level of food security had higher levels of food security, vitamin and mineral supplements than other households. There was a significant relationship between the socio–economic factors studied (household size, home area and number of amenities) and food security level. There was a positive correlation between household dimension and food security level (R=0.142 and p <0.001) and inverse relationship between food security level with home area and number of amenities (R=–0.093 and p <0.005, R=– 0.73 and p <0.001, respectively). Conclusion: According to the present study, factors affecting food security in Kerman city women can provide appropriate operational strategies to improve food security in pre–crisis areas. The results of this study show that the Kerman is in a safe food zone before the crisis.

Keywords

food security, crisis, household, socio–economic factors

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