Food insecurity was negatively associated with adherence to the “fruits, vegetables, and foods rich in animal protein” dietary pattern among university students’ households: the 2018 Mexican National Household Survey

Betancourt-Núñez, A., Nava-Amante, P. A., Bernal-Orozco, M. F., Vizmanos, B., Vargas-García, E. J., Márquez-Sandoval, F., Salas-García, M. A. and Díaz-López, A. (2023) Food insecurity was negatively associated with adherence to the “fruits, vegetables, and foods rich in animal protein” dietary pattern among university students’ households: the 2018 Mexican National Household Survey. BMC Public Health, 23, 854. (doi: 10.1186/s12889-023-15755-z) (PMID:37226130) (PMCID:PMC10208201)

Abstract

Background: University students are often affected by food insecurity (FI) and this situation has been associated with low consumption of fruit/vegetables and high intake of added sugars and sweet drinks. However, there needs to be more evidence on the association between FI and dietary patterns (DPs), assessing the overall diet and allowing analysis of commonly consumed food combinations. We aimed to analyze the association between FI and DPs in university students’ households. Methods: We used data from 7659 university student households from the 2018 Mexican National Household Income and Expenditure Survey (ENIGH, for its acronym in Spanish). We obtained FI levels (mild, moderate, and severe) using the validated Mexican Food Security Scale (EMSA, Spanish acronym). Two DPs were identified by principal component analysis based on the weekly frequency of consumption of 12 food groups. Multivariate logistic regression adjusted by university student and household’s characteristics was applied. Results: Compared to food security, households with mild-FI (OR:0.34; 95%CI:0.30, 0.40), moderate-FI (OR:0.20; 95%CI:0.16, 0.24) or severe-FI (OR:0.14; 95%CI:0.11, 0.19) were less likely to adhere to the dietary pattern “Fruits, vegetables and foods rich in animal protein” (fruits, vegetables, meat, fish or seafood, dairy products, and starchy vegetables). In addition, people with severe-FI (OR:0.51; 95% CI:0.34, 0.76) were also less likely to adhere to the dietary pattern “Traditional-Westernized” (pulses, oils or fats, sugar, sweets, industrialized drinks, foods made from corn/maize, wheat, rice, oats or bran, coffee, tea and eggs). Conclusions: In these households FI impairs the ability to consume a healthy dietary pattern (fruits/vegetables and foods rich in animal protein). In addition, the intake of foods typical of the Mexican food culture reflecting the local Western dietary pattern is compromised in households with severe-FI.

• Item Type: Articles
• Additional Information: This research was funded by the Programa para el Desarrollo Profesional Docente (PRODEP) (A.B.N., grant numbers UDG-PTC-1511). This research was funded in part by a scholarship awarded by the Consejo Nacional de Ciencia y Tecnología (CONACYT) (P.A.N.A., grant number 1035497), (M.A.S.G., grant number 863882), (A.B.N., grant number 484393), (B.V., grant number 22064), (M.F.B.O., grant number 176919), (F.M.S., grant number 280927).
• Keywords: Food security, dietary pattern, university student, college student, food insecurity.
• Status: Published
• Refereed: Yes
• Glasgow Author(s) Enlighten ID: Vargas, Ms Elisa
• Authors: Betancourt-Núñez, A., Nava-Amante, P. A., Bernal-Orozco, M. F., Vizmanos, B., Vargas-García, E. J., Márquez-Sandoval, F., Salas-García, M. A., and Díaz-López, A.
• College/School: College of Medical Veterinary and Life Sciences > School of Medicine, Dentistry & Nursing
• Journal Name: BMC Public Health
• Publisher: BioMed Central
• ISSN: 1471-2458
• ISSN (Online): 1471-2458
• Copyright Holders: Copyright © 2023 The Authors
• First Published: First published in BMC Public Health 23: 854
• Publisher Policy: Reproduced under a Creative Commons License

Related URLs

• Research Data