ABSTRACT
We examine food and nutrition security and the household's ability to respond adequately to shock and stressors during the COVID-19 pandemic. Specifically, we assess household resilience to food insecurity and its relation to future food security. We use two survey rounds collected during the pandemic - before and after the second wave of the pandemic-from the vulnerable population living in slums in Tanzania. The findings reveal that many households have low resilience to shock. We find that COVID-19 reduced access to food in 68% of the households and left about 30% without any food to eat. We also find that micronutrient consumption significantly declined among households who reported food insecurity following the second wave of COVID-19. We also find that the probability of experiencing food insecurity reduced with the initial resilience level. High resilient households have a higher likelihood of maintaining or diversifying more their diets even when are exposed to shock. The disruption of income-generating activities was found as a leading pathway through which COVID-19 affected household food security. The findings suggest that with persisting COVID-19 pandemic and the low level of micronutrients consumption, the nutrition of children and adult household members of the vulnerable population is at stake.
ABSTRACT
Poor diet quality is commonly reported in young adults. This study aimed to measure the diet quality of students attending a large Australian university (including domestic and international students), and to examine the effect of food security status and other key factors likely to impact their diet quality. Using the Automated Self-Administered 24-h recall Australian version, a cross-sectional survey collected dietary recalls from domestic and international students in one university in Sydney. Diet quality was assessed using the validated Healthy Eating Index for Australian Adults (HEIFA-2013) which gives a score out of 100. Food security status was measured by the 18-item Household Food Security Survey Module. Differences in the mean HEIFA-2013 scores by student characteristics were determined by analysis of covariance. A total of 141 students completed one dietary recall. The mean HEIFA-2013 score for students was low (mean 52.4, 95% CI 50.0-54.8). Food-insecure students had a poorer diet quality (mean 43.7, 95% CI 35.7-51.8) than their food-secure peers (mean 53.2, 95% CI 50.8-55.7, p = 0.027). The mean HEIFA-2013 score was similar in domestic (mean 52.5, 95% CI 49.9-55.2) and international students (mean 51.9, 95% CI 46.3-57.5, p = 0.845). Those reporting self-perceived excellent cooking skills and higher cooking frequency had better diet quality. Interventions to improve food and nutrition knowledge and skills and address food insecurity may help tertiary education students cook more frequently and achieve better diet quality.
Subject(s)
Diet, Healthy , Food Supply , Young Adult , Humans , Universities , Cross-Sectional Studies , Australia , Diet , Meals , Students , Cooking , Food InsecurityABSTRACT
Enquanto crises econômicas desencadeiam o aumento da insegurança alimentar (IA) e da desigualdade de gênero (DG), o apoio social tem mostrado aliviar esses impactos. No entanto, diferentemente de outros choques econômicos, a pandemia de Covid-19 incluiu no cenário de crise o isolamento social. Este estudo utilizou dados de pesquisa transversal coletados em 18 países da América Latina (AL) para avaliar as mudanças nas percepções de DG e sua associação com a IA e o apoio social durante período de crise econômica na região. Os resultados mostraram aumentos graduais nas percepções de DG na AL e que os entrevistados com IA e baixo apoio social eram os mais propensos a perceber a DG. Mulheres são mais vulneráveis à IA e à violência doméstica, e o isolamento social pode ser um agravante. Políticas públicas devem garantir que mulheres tenham maior controle sobre a renda e bens produtivos. (AU)
Social support has been shown to mitigate increased food insecurity (FI) and gender inequality (GI) triggered by economic crises. However, unlike other shocks to the economy, the crisis triggered by the Covid-19 pandemic included social isolation. This study used data from a cross-sectional study collected in 18 countries in Latin America to evaluate changes in perceptions of GI and its association with FI and social support in the region during the economic crisis. The findings show a gradual increase in perceptions of GI in FI and that interviewees suffering from FI and low levels of social support were more likely to perceive GI. Women are more vulnerable to FI and domestic violence, and social isolation may be an aggravating factor. Public policy should ensure that women have greater control over income and productive assets. (AU)
Mientras que las crisis económicas desencadenan el aumento de la inseguridad alimentaria (IA) y la desigualdad de género (DG), el apoyo social muestra un alivio de esos impactos. Sin embargo, diferentemente de otros impactos económicos, la pandemia de Covid-19 incluyó en el escenario de crisis el aislamiento social. Este estudio utilizó datos de investigación transversal colectados en 18 países de AL, para evaluar los cambios en las percepciones de la DG y su asociación con la IA y el apoyo social durante el período de crisis económica en la región. Los resultados mostraron aumentos graduales en las percepciones de la DG en AL y que los entrevistados con IA y bajo apoyo social eran los más propensos a percibir la DG. Las mujeres son más vulnerables a la IA y a la violencia doméstica y el aislamiento social puede ser un agravante. Las políticas públicas deben asegurar que las mujeres tengan mayor control sobre los ingresos y los bienes productivos. (AU)