Food intake and Food Insecurity in pregnant women

Abstract

Food insecurity (FI), defined as limited access to food in adequate quantity and quality, can affect the development of more vulnerable individuals, such as pregnant women. The objective of this study was to verify the association between FI, sociodemographic and health factors with the consumption of fruits and vegetables in pregnant women at risk linked to a referral hospital in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. The FI was measured using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale, sociodemographic and health data were collected through interviews with 260 pregnant women at risk, between the years 2017 and 2020 and it was investigated, through logistic models, using the odds ratio with 95% confidence interval (OR; 95% CI), the association between low consumption of fruits and vegetables, defined by consumption less than 5 times a week, and exposure to FI, and its relationship with sociodemographic factors and health. There was no statistically significant association between vegetable consumption and FI, however, FI was significantly associated with low fruit consumption (OR=2.1; 95%CI=1.02-4.5), color/race black/brown/indigenous increased about three times the chance of low fruit consumption (OR=3.1;95%CI=1.5-6.3), in addition to alcohol consumption (OR=2.8;95%CI =1.02-7.7). The proportion of FI found in this study reveals the high vulnerability of a group that is already naturally more susceptible to health risk conditions, such as pregnant women.