Abstract

SHAMAH-LEVY, Teresa; MUNDO-ROSAS, Verónica  and  RIVERA-DOMMARCO, Juan A. Magnitude of food insecurity in Mexico: Its relationship with nutritional status and socioeconomic factors. Salud pública Méx [online]. 2014, vol.56, suppl.1, pp.s79-85. ISSN 0036-3634.

Objective. To describe the distribution of food insecurity (FI) in Mexico, from the perspective of food access and consumption, and its relationship with diverse socioeconomic factors and nutritional status. Materials and methods. Information from the National Health and Nutrition Survey 2012 (Ensanut 2012), National Income - Expense in Households Survey 2008 (ENIGH 2008), and from the National Council for Poverty Evaluation (Coneval) was gathered for this study. Food insecurity (FI) measurement was conducted by applying the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA) and its relation with socioeconomic, dietetic, and nutritional variables. Results. In Mexico one out of three households suffers food insecurity in moderate or severe degree. FI not only increases the malnutrition risk in children but also contributes to the great incidence of diabetes, overweight and obesity in adults, principally in women. Conclusion. To improve structural agents and factors that impact in FI in Mexico is imperative, due to the consequences that it has in the country's development.

Keywords : food security; malnutrition; obesity; Mexico.

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