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Household Food Insecurity and Dietary Intake among Hispanic Women of Childbearing Age
Author(s) -
Hilmers Angela,
Chen TzuAn,
Hilmers David C,
Cullen Karen C
Publication year - 2013
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.27.1_supplement.1054.16
Subject(s) - food security , environmental health , food insecurity , acculturation , ethnic group , body mass index , logistic regression , odds , breastfeeding , household income , public health , affect (linguistics) , gerontology , medicine , demography , geography , agriculture , psychology , political science , archaeology , communication , pathology , sociology , law , nursing
Objectives This study examined the impact of household food insecurity on the dietary intake of Hispanic women of childbearing age. Methods Participants were 707 Hispanic non‐pregnant, non‐breastfeeding women aged 26–44 years from three cities in Texas. Chi‐square tests, logistic regression and one‐way analysis of covariance tested the associations between food security status and dietary intake after controlling for participation in federal assistance programs, household income and composition, acculturation, and body mass index (BMI). Results About 77 percent of food‐insecure women participated in at least one federal assistance program. Number of children in the household was the only significant predictor of food security status with each additional child increasing the odds of being food‐insecure by 25 percent. Food insecurity was significantly associated with BMI ≥30. No significant differences in dietary intake were found by food security status. Conclusions Among Hispanic women, food insecurity does not affect food and nutrient intakes nor household food security always translates into consumption of nutritionally adequate foods. Public health efforts should continue to address the disparate nutritional needs of this ethnic group independent of food security status. Grant Funding Source : National Research Initiative of the USDA Cooperative State Research, Education and Extension Service, grant number #2004–35215‐14225