Food Insecurity and Health Outcomes Other than Malnutrition in Southern Africa: A Descriptive Systematic Review

Abstract

Food insecurity (FI) is one of the major causes of malnutrition and is associated with a range of negative health outcomes in low and middle-income countries. The burden of FI in southern Africa is unknown, although FI continues to be a major public health problem across sub-Saharan Africa as a whole. Therefore, this review sought to identify empirical studies that related FI to health outcomes among adults in southern Africa. Altogether, 14 publications using diverse measures of FI were reviewed. The majority of the studies measured FI using modified versions of the United States Department of Agriculture Household Food Security Survey Module. A wide range in prevalence and severity of FI was reported (18–91%), depending on the measurement tool and population under investigation. Furthermore, FI was mostly associated with hypertension, diabetes, anxiety, depression and increased risk of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) acquisition. Based on the findings, future research is needed, especially in countries with as yet no empirical studies on the subject, to identify and standardize measures of FI suitable for the southern African context and to inform public health policies and appropriate interventions aiming to alleviate FI and potentially improve health outcomes in the region.

Coping Strategies for Household Food Insecurity, and Perceived Health in an Urban Community in Southern Mozambique: A Qualitative Study

“…A small share of household heads also mentioned climate change and soil degradation, as well as the premature loss of parents, food adulteration, non-integrated markets, deficient food production, and storage and transportation issues. These results are indicative of how dynamic and complex the issue of FI is, and they call for joint and coordinated efforts from various actors-namely the government, the private sector, civil society, international institutions (e.g., the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund), and communities-in order to stimulate decent work and build an inclusive economy [50,51]. Moreover, these findings suggest the need to provide social and economic support to the most vulnerable groups [52,53].…”

“…As pointed out by former WHO Director-General Margaret Chan, the world's struggle is not due to a lack of learning and solutions, but to a lack of actions to implement solutions [67]. The urgency of FI in Africa demands joint and coordinated efforts from all sectors (e.g., government, the private sector, civil society, international organizations) [51,68,69]. On the other hand, rapid population growth is a serious challenge that has been overlooked [1,70].…”

Examining mediators of associations of food insecurity and being bullied with suicide among in-school adolescents in Eswatini: a cross-sectional study

“…FI and BB were the main independent variables in this study. As described in the literature 36 , 37 , FI was measured by reviewing the responses to this question: “During the past 30 days, how often did you go hungry because there was not enough food at home?” The possible responses ranged from 1 ( never ) to 5 ( always ); therefore, through binary coding, we coded 1 ( never ) to 3 ( sometimes ) as “no” and 4 ( most of the time ) to 5 ( always ) as “yes”.…”

Food Insecurity Is Associated with Dietary Consumption during the COVID-19 Pandemic: Data from the Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2019–2020

“…Individuals with food insecurity had a lower intake of fresh fruits and vegetables but a higher consumption of junk food than those with a secure food supply [ 16 , 17 , 18 ]. This could lead to food-insecure people, with the interaction of socioeconomic factors, having a higher risk of negative health outcomes, including obesity, hypertension, diabetes and mental health problems [ 19 , 20 , 21 , 22 ]. The recent COVID-19 outbreak has also impacted food security status globally.…”