Food insecurity and nutritional status of preschool children in Mexico

Objective. To describe the relation between malnutrition and food insecurity (FI) in preschool children from Mexico. Material and methods. Information of 10 513 preschool children and their families was analyzed. The FI was measured through the Latin American and Caribbean Food Security Scale (ELCSA). Adjusted prevalence of FI and malnutrition with related variables were assessed by logistic regression. Results. 31% of households had moderate and server FI. Rural and south, indigenous households, in the Q1 and Q2, showed the highest prevalence of moderate and severe FI as well. We observed a high tendency of malnutrition in the severe FI group; the prevalence of overweight was similar in the four groups of FI. Conclusions. The risk of chronic malnutrition is 42% bigger in children less than five years old with severe FI than in those that experienced food security.