Association between food and nutrition insecurity with cardiometabolic risk factors in childhood and adolescence: a systematic review

Abstract

Objective:To address the association between food and nutrition insecurity and cardiometabolic risk factors in childhood and adolescence.Data source:Articles were selected from the Medline, Lilacs and SciELO databases with no publication date limit, involving children and adolescents, using the descriptors: food and nutrition security, diabetes mellitus, hypertension, metabolic syndrome, stress and dyslipidemia. The terms were used in Portuguese, English and Spanish. The search was carried out systematically and independently by two reviewers.Data synthesis:Exposure to food insecurity during childhood and adolescence ranged from 3.3% to 82% in the selected publications. Exposure to food insecurity was associated with stress, anxiety, greater chance of hospitalization, nutritional deficiencies, excess weight and inadequate diets with reduced intake of fruits and vegetables and increased consumption of refined carbohydrates and fats.Conclusions:Food and nutrition insecurity was associated with the presence of cardiometabolic risk factors in the assessed publications. Childhood and adolescence constitute a period of life that is vulnerable to food insecurity consequences, making it extremely important to ensure the regular and permanent access to food. Because this is a complex association, some difficulties are found, such as the synergy between risk factors, the assessment of heterogeneous groups and extrapolation of data to other populations, in addition to the influence of environmental factors.

Prevalence, socio-economic predictors and health correlates of food insecurity among Italian children- findings from a cross-sectional study

“…(FAO et al 2019). That is more worrying in children, who, if affected, may be in danger for present and future adverse health effects, since their developing brains and bodies can suffer long-term negative consequences (Whitsett et al 2019;Rocha et al 2016).…”

“…Although, FI has been associated with worse diet quality, reduced fruits and vegetables intake, increased consumption of carbohydrates and fats and micronutrient deficiency (Janice and Ford-Jones 2015), it is a different marker of nutritional vulnerability in different countries (Kirkpatrick et al 2015). A systematic review including international samples from North America, Europe and Asia has reported that FI children have higher probability for presence of cardio-metabolic risk factors (Rocha et al 2016) as well as chronic conditions, particularly asthma, depression and suicidal ideation (FAO et al 2019). In addition, a study in USA has associated FI to higher odds of experiencing dental caries (Angelopoulou et al 2019).…”

Food Insecurity and Bullying Victimization Among 170,618 Adolescents in 59 Countries

“…Indeed, studies revealed that food insecurity could add additional independent influence on children and adolescent's health outcomes above and beyond the detrimental impact of low SES (32,33). Long-term food insecurity or perpetuated hunger has adverse impacts on individual's physical and mental health, leading to undesirable developmental outcomes in adolescents, including nutritional deficiencies, obesity, poor academic performance, and even mental disorders (e.g., depression and anxiety) (33)(34)(35). These adverse outcomes would further pose adolescents at a high risk of being bullied as those being too distinct from peers (e.g., too short, too tall, too heavy, too skinny, or not smart enough) often become targets for bullying victims (21).…”

Factores asociados con el perfil lipídico de adolescentes

“…Income, for example, is a condition that can affect food intake, and thus the lower the income, the higher the prevalence of food and nutrition insecurity, which implies losses in the quality of meals and, consequently, in health status 34 . Food insecurity is associated with high consumption of foods with a higher energy density, and with a low intake of fruits and vegetables, predisposing the individual to the appearance of cardiometabolic diseases 35 . Nascimento et al (2018) 36 demonstrated that the low consumption of antioxidant nutrients, many of which are present in foods of plant origin, was associated with lipid alterations in adolescents.…”