Food Insecurity Levels among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design
2.2. Participant Recruitment and Enrolment
2.3. Questionnaire
2.4. Ethics
2.5. Statistical Analysis
3. Results
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Classification | Cutting Points | |
---|---|---|
With members under 18 years old | Without members under 18 years old | |
Food Security | 0 | 0 |
Mild FI | 1–5 | 1–3 |
Moderate FI | 6–9 | 4–5 |
Severe FI | 10–14 | 6–8 |
Questions | n (%) |
---|---|
All students (n = 284) | |
1. In the past 3 months, have you ever felt worried that food in your household might run out before you had enough money to buy more? | 38 (13.4) |
2. In the last 3 months, did you run out of food before you had the money to buy more? | 9 (3.2) |
3. In the last 3 months, did your household members run out of money to have a healthy and varied diet? | 14 (4.9) |
4. In the last 3 months, did your household members have to eat the only food they still had at home because they ran out of money? | 20 (7.0) |
5. In the last 3 months, has any adult household member (aged 18 or over) missed a meal because they did not have enough money to buy food? | 6 (2.1) |
6. In the last 3 months, did any adult household member eat less than they thought they should because they did not have enough money to buy food? | 18 (6.3) |
7. In the last 3 months, has any adult member of the household felt hungry but not eaten due to not having had enough money to buy food? | 5 (1.8) |
8. In the last 3 months, has any adult member of the household gone a whole day without eating or had only one meal throughout the day because they did not have enough money to buy food? | 3 (1.1) |
Students with household members under 18 years old (n = 194) | |
9. In the last 3 months, have the children/adolescents in your household (under 18 years of age) been unable to have a healthy and varied diet due to lack of money? | 1 (0.5) |
10. In the last 3 months, did the children/adolescents in your household have to consume food that they still had at home because they had run out of money? | 1 (0.5) |
11. In the last 3 months, in general, did any child/adolescent in your household eat less than they should have because there was no money to buy food? | 1 (0.5) |
12. In the last 3 months, was the amount of food in the meals of any child/adolescent in your household reduced because there was not enough money to buy food? | 2 (1.0) |
13. In the last 3 months, has any child/adolescent in your household skipped a meal because there was not enough money to buy food? | 0 (0.0) |
14. In the last 3 months, have any children/adolescents in your household felt hungry but not eaten due to not having enough money to buy food? | 0 (0.0) |
Total n = 284 | FS n = 235 (82.7%) | FI n = 49 (17.3%) | p-Value a | |
---|---|---|---|---|
Age | ||||
≤18 years | 50 (17.6) | 44 (88.0) | 6 (12.0) | 0.279 |
>18 years | 234 (82.4) | 191 (81.6) | 43 (18.4) | |
Gender | ||||
Female | 228 (80.3) | 188 (82.5) | 40 (17.5) | 0.794 |
Male | 56 (19.7) | 47 (83.9) | 9 (16.1) | |
Body Mass Index | ||||
Underweight | 17 (6.0) | 16 (94.1) | 1 (5.9) | 0.402 |
Normal weight | 220 (77.5) | 181 (82.3) | 39 (17.7) | |
Overweight | 33 (11.6) | 28 (84.8) | 5 (15.2) | |
Obesity | 14 (4.9) | 10 (71.4) | 4 (28.6) | |
Education level | ||||
Bachelor | 218 (76.8) | 183 (83.9) | 35 (16.1) | 0.097 |
Master | 56 (19.7) | 42 (75.0) | 14 (25.0) | |
PhD | 10 (3.5) | 10 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
Employment status | ||||
Employed | 24 (8.5) | 216 (83.1) | 44 (16.9) | 0.628 |
Unemployed | 260 (91.5) | 19 (79.2) | 5 (20.8) | |
Residence region | ||||
Norte | 258 (90.8.) | 212 (82.2) | 46 (17.8) | 0.787 |
Centro | 13 (4.6) | 10 (76.9) | 3 (23.1) | |
Lisboa e Vale do Tejo | 4 (1.4) | 4 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
Alentejo | 1 (0.4) | 1 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
Madeira | 4 (1.4) | 4 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
Açores | 1 (0.4) | 1 (100.0) | 0 (0.0) | |
Missing | 3 (1.1) | |||
Nationality | ||||
Portuguese | 275 (96.8) | 230 (83.6) | 45 (16.4) | 0.028* |
Other | 9 (3.2) | 5 (55.6) | 4 (44.4) | |
Number of household members | ||||
≤2 | 46 (16.2) | 32 (69.6) | 14 (30.4) | 0.058 |
3 | 85 (29.9) | 75 (88.2) | 10 (11.8) | |
4 | 122 (43.0) | 102 (83.6) | 20 (16.4) | |
≥5 | 31 (10.9) | 26 (83.9) | 5 (16.1) | |
Number of household members ≥65 years old | ||||
<1 | 253 (89.1) | 210 (83.0) | 43 (17.0) | 0.743 |
≥1 | 31 (10.9) | 25 (80.6) | 6 (19.4) | |
Number of unemployed household members | ||||
0 | 210 (73.9) | 184 (87.6) | 26 (12.4) | 0.001* |
1 | 56 (19.7) | 40 (71.4) | 16 (28.6) | |
≥2 | 18 (6.3) | 11 (61.1) | 7 (38.9) | |
Number of household members contributing to family income | ||||
≤2 | 258 (90.8) | 216 (83.7) | 42 (16.3) | 0.171 |
>2 | 26 (9.2) | 19 (73.1) | 7 (26.9) | |
Presence of household members that smoke everyday | ||||
No | 194 (68.3) | 155 (82.9) | 32 (17.1) | 0.073 |
Yes | 90 (31.7) | 79 (84.0) | 15 (16.0) | |
Do not know | 3 (1.1) | |||
Household members under 18 years old | ||||
No | 90 (31.7) | 155 (79.9) | 39 (20.1) | 0.062 |
Yes | 194 (68.3) | 80 (88.9) | 10 (11.1) |
Independent Variable | Odds Ratio (OR) | 95% CI | p-Value |
---|---|---|---|
Higher BMI a | 1.166 | 0.523–2.602 | 0.707 |
Non-Portuguese nationality b | 4.089 | 1.057–15.821 | 0.041 * |
Higher number of household members c | 2.537 | 1.231–5.230 | 0.012 * |
Higher number of unemployed household members d | 3.192 | 1.681–6.059 | <0.001 * |
n (%) | |
---|---|
In the last 3 months, did your household members change their consumption of any food considered essential (e.g., fruit, vegetables, fish, meat, rice, potatoes, pasta) due to economic difficulties in purchasing it? | |
Yes | 21 (7.4) |
No | 263 (92.6) |
In the last 3 months, what were the main dietary changes in your household due to economic difficulties? | |
Eat out less | 63 (22.9) |
Obtain food through own production or from family members or others | 25 (9.8) |
Receive food or other outside help | 5 (1.8) |
The following reasons show why people do not always eat enough. Indicate if any of them apply to you: | |
Do not have enough money to buy food | 10 (3.5) |
Lack of gas, electricity, or an electrical appliance | 3 (1.6) |
Unable to cook or eat due to health problems | 10 (3.5) |
Lack of time | 3 (1.6) |
It is very difficult to have access to a food outlet | 3 (1.6) |
The following reasons show why people do not always have the types of food they want or need. Indicate if any of them apply to you: | |
Good quality food is not available | 20 (7.0) |
The food desired is not available | 16 (5.6) |
Do not have enough money to buy food | 20 (7.0) |
It is very difficult to have access to a food outlet | 5 (1.8) |
A healthier and varied diet turns out to be more expensive | 1 (0.39) |
In the last 3 months, the purchase of “white label” foods: | |
Increased | 58 (20.4) |
Did not change | 199 (70.1) |
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Marques, B.; Azevedo, J.; Rodrigues, I.; Rainho, C.; Gonçalves, C. Food Insecurity Levels among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. Societies 2022, 12, 174. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12060174
Marques B, Azevedo J, Rodrigues I, Rainho C, Gonçalves C. Food Insecurity Levels among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. Societies. 2022; 12(6):174. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12060174
Chicago/Turabian StyleMarques, Bebiana, Jorge Azevedo, Isilda Rodrigues, Conceição Rainho, and Carla Gonçalves. 2022. "Food Insecurity Levels among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study" Societies 12, no. 6: 174. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12060174
APA StyleMarques, B., Azevedo, J., Rodrigues, I., Rainho, C., & Gonçalves, C. (2022). Food Insecurity Levels among University Students: A Cross-Sectional Study. Societies, 12(6), 174. https://doi.org/10.3390/soc12060174