[Food insecurity: associated variables and issues for public policy].

Area of Science:

• Nutrition Science
• Public Health
• Socioeconomics

Background:

• Food insecurity measurement validity evolves with demographic, epidemiological, and nutritional transitions.
• Accurate assessment of food insecurity is crucial for effective public health interventions and social policy development.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare five distinct methods for quantifying food insecurity and identify associated variables in Colombian households.
• To evaluate the utility of different food insecurity assessment tools in the context of ongoing societal changes.

Main Methods:

• Employed five methods: Scale of Perceptions of Food Safety (EPSA), Latin American and Caribbean scale (ELCSA), head of household energy intake, all household members' energy consumption, and a child-focused consumption/status algorithm.
• Utilized binomial regression to determine variables associated with food insecurity across the different measurement approaches.
• Classified 432 households in Colombia using the selected methodologies.

Main Results:

• Food insecurity prevalence ranged significantly from 35.9% to 87.0% depending on the method used.
• Households with children showed a reduced risk of food insecurity under ELCSA and energy intake methods.
• Factors such as nonpayment of utilities, limited household food access, and sporadic income were consistently associated with increased food insecurity across various methods.

Conclusions:

• Existing, routinely collected national data in Colombia is deemed sufficient for informing social policies.
• The evaluated methods for measuring food insecurity were found to be not relevant or useful for developing social policies, given the availability of reliable national statistics.