Design and evaluation of a program to improve food and nutrition security in mothers and their school-age children from Kino Bay, Sonora

Abstract

Food insecurity is one of the main problems that affects the availability and access of food for families whose main livelihood is fishing. Due to the negative effects of food insecurity on nutritional and health status, targeted interventions to vulnerable groups in fishing communities are needed. Therefore, the objective of this investigation was to design and evaluate a program to improve the food and nutrition security in mothers and their school age children from Kino Bay, Sonora. The evaluation had a quasiexperimental design with assessments before and after its implementation. In September 2016, 116 families were recruited for the study, which included 116 mothers (89.2% of those eligible) and 131 children (89.1% of those eligible). A survey about socio-economic and demographic conditions was applied to know the general characteristics of the families. Food security was assessed in mothers and their children through economic access, availability, and utilization of food. For access to food, the Mexican Food Security Scale was used. Through dietary measures the availability of food was assessed. Food utilization was assessed using anthropometric, and biochemical measures. In addition, knowledge of nutrition and higiene practices was assessed. A 64.7% (n = 75) of households reported experiencing food insecurity. In mothers, food insecurity was associated with lower intake of protein and iodine, and higher intake of carbohydrates. Mothers with food insecurity had 3.68 and 3.22 times higher odds of not consuming vegetables and fruits, respectively, and 4.87 times higher odds of consuming sweetened non-dairy drinks compared to mothers with food security (P = 0.04, 0.04, and 0.05, respectively). In children, food insecurity was also negatively associated with the consumption of fruits and fruits plus vegetables. An 88% (n = 89) of mothers were overweight or obese and 93% (n = 92) had abdominal obesity, but there were no significant associations between overweight, obesity, and abdominal obesity with food insecurity. On the other hand, 50% (n = 51) of children were overweight or obese, and food insecurity was associated with lower prevalence of overweight and obesity, both in boys and girls.