Food Insecurity and Associated Factors in Brazilian Undergraduates during the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Undergraduates may face challenges to assure food security, related to economic and mental distress, especially during the COVID-19 pandemic. This study aimed to assess food insecurity and its associated factors in undergraduates during the COVID-19 pandemic. An online cross-sectional study was conducted from August 2020 to February 2021 with 4775 undergraduates from all Brazilian regions. The questionnaire contained socio-economic variables, the validated Brazilian food insecurity scale, and the ESQUADA scale to assess diet quality. The median age of the students was 22.0 years, and 48.0% reported income decreasing with the pandemic. Food insecurity was present in 38.6% of the students, 4.5% with severe food insecurity and 7.7% moderate. Logistic regressions showed students with brown and black skin color/race presented the highest OR for food insecurity; both income and weight increase or reduction during the pandemic was also associated with a higher OR for food insecurity, and better diet quality was associated with decreased OR for food insecurity. Our study showed a considerable presence of food insecurity in undergraduates. Policy for this population must be directed to the most vulnerable: those with brown and black skin color/race, who changed income during the pandemic, and those presented with difficulties maintaining weight and with poor diet quality.

[Nutritional status of children of Haitian descent and their demographic, socioeconomic and health characteristics in Cuiabá, State of Mato Grosso (MT), Brazil]. / Estado nutricional de crianças de descendência haitiana e suas características demográficas, socioeconômicas e de saúde em Cuiabá-MT, Brasil.

The scope of this study was to analyze the distribution of anthropometric variables according to demographic, socioeconomic, and health characteristics among children of Haitian descent between 0 and 5 years of age living in Cuiabá-MT. It consists of a cross-sectional and census-based study with data collected between August 2016 and February 2017. The dependent variables were body mass index (BMI) and height-for-age z-score, using Student's t-Test and ANOVA in the statistical analysis. A total of 67 children, 73.2% to 24 months of age and 34.3% being male, were evaluated. There was a significant proportion of families with per capita income of less than 1/4 of the minimum wage (65.6%), with no home monitoring for the family health strategy (88.1%), and long working hours for mothers (43.3%). The onset of prenatal care until the third month of pregnancy and female sex were associated with higher BMI averages. For height-for-age, an association with lower mean values was found for households with more than one resident per room, higher age range of the child, and child-care in daycare centers. Thus, although few factors have an association with the anthropometric indications evaluated, it is necessary to consider the precarious socioeconomic conditions in which these children find themselves.

O objetivo deste estudo foi analisar a distribuição das variáveis antropométricas de acordo com características demográficas, socioeconômicas e de saúde em crianças, de zero a cinco anos, de descendência haitiana residentes em Cuiabá-MT, Brasil. Consiste em estudo transversal, com dados coletados entre agosto/2016 e fevereiro/2017. As variáveis dependentes foram o índice de massa corporal (IMC) e a estatura/idade em escore-z, sendo utilizado o Teste t de Student e ANOVA na análise estatística. Foram avaliadas 67 crianças, 73,2% com até 24 meses de idade e 34,3% do sexo masculino. Observou-se expressiva proporção de famílias com renda per capita inferior a 1/4 de salário mínimo (65,6%), sem acompanhamento domiciliar pela Estratégia Saúde da Família (88,1%) e elevada carga horária de trabalho das mães (43,3%). O início do pré-natal até o terceiro mês de gestação e sexo feminino foram associados a maiores médias de IMC. Quanto a estatura/idade, foi identificada associação com menores médias para domicílios com mais de um morador por cômodo, faixa etária mais elevada da criança e cuidado da criança em creches. Apesar de poucos fatores apresentaram associação com os indicadores antropométricos avaliados, é necessário atentar-se para as condições socioeconômicas precárias nas quais estas crianças estão inseridas.