STUDENT El Colegio de Mexico MEXICO CITY, Distrito Federal, Mexico
Disclosure(s):
Olga Mesilemit Velazquez Gonzalez, MSocSc: No relevant financial relationship(s) with ineligible companies to disclose.
Objectives: The aim of this study is to evaluate the association between household food security status and diet quality of people living in Mexico.
Methods: Using cross-sectional data from the National Health and Nutrition Survey (ENSANUT) 2016, a secondary analysis was conducted to evaluate the dietary quality of 1550 individuals 15-49 years. Diet quality was assessed using the Global Diet Quality Score (GDQS) and food security was assessed using the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA).
Associations between food security and GDQS, total and by components, were examined using multinomial logit models adjusted for sociodemographic covariates such as socioeconomis status (SES), age subgroup, type of residence (urban, rural or sub-urban) and ethnicity (being a native speaker of a minority or indigenous language).
Results: Compared to food secure people, women living in severe food insecure households had a higher relative risk for reaching total scores of diet quality which correspond to moderate (RRR= 3.1; p=0.033; 95% CI 1.05-3.42) or high risk (RRR= 3.9; p=0.018; 95% CI 1.15-4.45) of having NCDs, compared to the risk to obtain scores of low risk of NCDs. Results regarding the total diet quality scores in men were not statistically significant.
Regarding some specific food groups, mild, moderate or severe household food insecurity could prevent overconsumption of non recommended products such as sugar-sweetened beverages and processed meat among men, and white roots and tubers or purchased deep fried foods among women. However, mild, moderate or severe household food insecurity was associated to higher relative risk for reaching total scores of diet quality which correspond to the category of high risk (of NCDs) consumption of certain food groups, such as refined grains and sea food among men, and processed meat, high-fat dairy, vegetables, liquid oils, and fruits among women.
Conclusions: Associations between food security and GDQS, total and by components, show that using metrics such as the GDQS is useful in order to identify dietary aspects that can be modified to prevent chronic diseases and how inequalities in the access to food affect men and women differently.
Funding Sources: This study was funded by the National Council of Science and Technology in Mexico through the scholarship for full-time graduate studies.
