رابطه امنيت غذايي با عوامل اجتماعي اقتصادي و وضعيت وزن نوجوانان

The association of food security with socio-economic factors and weight status among adolescents

Background and objectives: Food insecurity can lead to developmental, health, and nutritional problems, therefore investigation of factors associated with food insecurity seems necessary in every community. The aim of this study was to investigate the association of food security with socio-economic factors and weight status of high school students and their mothers in Esfahan, Iran. Materials and methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in autumn 2008 on 580 students (261 boys and 319 girls) aged 14-17 years from 40 high schools in Esfahan, Iran. Using systematic cluster sampling, samples were selected. Socio-economic and food security assessment questionnaires were completed by interviewing students and their mothers. In addition, data on childrenʹs and mothersʹ weights and heights were collected. Statistical analysis was conducted using SPSS version 11.5 and P<0.05 was considered as the level of significance. Chi-square and independent-sample t-test, Spearmanʹs correlation coefficient, and logistic regression were used to investigate the association between food security and independent factors. Results: Food insecurity was positively associated with household size and birth order (P<0.05). Moreover, negative associations were observed between food insecurity and parental education level, occupation, and household economic status (P<0.05). There were no statistically significant associations between food security and other variables, including sex, self-reported health status, appetite, height for age z-score, body mass index (BMI) for age z-score, parental age, and mothersʹ BMI (P>0.05). Conclusion: The results of this study indicate that food insecurity is related to household size, birth order, parental education level and occupation, and household economic status.