Abstract
Food insecurity occurs when the right to food in adequate quality and quantity on a regular basis is disrespected. This study aimed to identify food and nutrition insecurity (FNI) and its possible association with socioeconomic and dietary variables in rural settlements of Sergipe. We verified food insecurity through the Brazilian of Food Insecurity Scale and associations via odds ratio multivariate regression analysis. We evaluated 179 families from four rural settlements in the state of Sergipe. An FNI prevalence of 88.8% was identified (48.6% light insecurity, 25.1% moderate and 15.1% severe). An adjusted statistical association was found between FNI and variables family income per capita (ORa = 3.11, p = 0.008) and food variety (ORa = 2.73, p = 0.004). Families showed high prevalence of food and nutritional insecurity, determined by low income and low variety of food in this population. It is essential to implement more effective and comprehensive public policies that actually ensure food security, also aiming at nutrition education and greater food production opportunities.
Rural settlements; Food security; Socioeconomic factors