National Trends and Disparities in Severe Food Insecurity in Brazil between 2004 and 2018

Abstract

Background The Brazilian Household Food Insecurity Measurement Scale (EBIA) is the main tool for assessing household food insecurity (FI) in Brazil and facilitates the monitoring and improvement of national public policies to promote food security. Since 2004, the Brazilian government has conducted National Household Sample Surveys, and in 2018, the government carried out the last national evaluation of FI. Objective To describe trends in severe FI in Brazil from 2004 to 2018. Methods Data from three cross-sectional Brazilian National Household Sample Surveys (sample sizes: 2004 = 112,530; 2009 = 120,910; 2013 = 116,196) and from the last Household Budget Survey (sample size = 57,920) that assessed the status of FI using the EBIA were analyzed. Changes in severe FI during two periods (2004-2013; 2013-2018) were estimated while considering sociodemographic factors. Results The period between 2004 and 2013 was marked by a significant decrease in severe FI (–53.6%), but this trend reversed in 2013-2018 (+43.8%). The greatest decrease in severe FI occurred in the Northeast (–57.6%) among households where the reference person was a man (–57.6%) and self-identified as white (–58.1%) (2004-2013). In 2013–2018, households with children ≤4 years (+6.3%) and members ≥65 years of age (+12.5%) experienced the lowest increases in severe FI. Conclusions After a significant reduction from 2004 to 2013, severe FI increased sharply from 2013 to 2018, likely due to disruptions in public policies aimed at reducing hunger and unemployment rates.

Food insecurity and symptoms of anxiety and depression disorder during the COVID- 19 pandemic: COVID-Inconfidentes, a population-based survey

“…Moreover, the experience of hunger was already increasing globally even before the COVID-19 pandemic impacted the economy, the reduction in family income, and the supply chain ( FAO et al, 2021 ). The same occurs in Brazil, where a recent study on trends and disparities in severe Food Insecurity reported that severe FI increased from 2013 to 2018 and was experienced by over 1 million new households in 2018 ( Salles-Costa et al, 2022 ).…”

“…Food insecurity was measured using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA), validated for the Brazilian population ( Pérez-Escamilla & Segall-Corrêa, 2008 ; Salles- Costa et al, 2022 ). It is a psychometric scale that examines a family's access to food and assesses the perception and experience of hunger in the household during the previous three months.…”

“…The Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA) is the primary tool used to assess FI in Brazil ( Reichenheim et al, 2016 ; Salles-Costa et al, 2022 ). This tool measures the experience of food insecurity based on anxiety or doubt about the future availability of food, damage to the quality and quantity of food, and the impossibility of acquiring food due to a lack of money ( Salles-Costa et al, 2022 ). FI is a growing problem in many countries and reflects the deterioration of the improvement the population nutrition achieved over the past few years ( FAO et al, 2021 ).…”

Inequalities in food acquisition according to the social profiles of the head of households in Brazil

“…The hunger and the risks to food insecurity that had been present since 2016, due to the discontinuities of economic policies for income transfers 33 , intensified in the pandemic, demanding a better understanding of the extent and magnitude of the problems and the articulation of government measures that can ensure access to adequate and healthy food 32 . Recently, Salles-Costa et al 34 evaluated the trend of increased vulnerability of access to food of the Brazilian population through the food insecurity indicator. According to the authors, a sex and a race/skin colour different from the reference person's were significantly associated with increased severe food insecurity in Brazil.…”

“…According to the authors, a sex and a race/skin colour different from the reference person's were significantly associated with increased severe food insecurity in Brazil. Furthermore, it was found that after a significant reduction in severe food security from 2004 to 2013, it increased sharply from 2014 to 2018, mainly among households where the reference person was a woman and self-identified as black/mulatto 34 .…”