Food insecurity, body mass index, socio-economic status, and food intake in lactating and non-lactating mothers with children under two years

BACKGROUND: food insecurity (FI) is considered as an essential public health problem which may have detrimental effects on people’s health. The aim of present study was to evaluate FI, body mass index, quantity and quality of food intake in lactating and non-lactating mothers with children under two years. METHODS: in this cross-sectional study 307 mothers (237 lactating and 70 non-lactating) were participated. Socio-economic and demographic information were gathered by questionnaires. FI of families was evaluated by the questionnaire of the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) Household Food Security. For assessing quality and quantity of food intake of mothers, dietary diversity score (DDS), diet quality index-international (DQI-I) and nutrient adequacy ratio (NAR) were calculated. Weight and height of participants were measured and body mass index (BMI) was calculated. Finally, Chi-squared test, analysis of variance (ANOVA) and linear regression were used for statistical analysis. RESULTS: in this study the rate of underweight, normal weight, overweight, and obesity in mothers was 0.3%, 39.2%, 42.3%, and 18.2%, respectively. Among the determinants of BMI, household food security status had the greatest effect (Beta=-1.584, P < 0.001) and mother age had the least effect (Beta = 0.101, P = 0.013). Mother’s occupational and educational status, having facilities, physiological status of mother, and house size had significant correlation with NAR. Mother’s occupational and educational status, and having facilities had significant relationship with DDS, too. Also, the significant correlation of Mother’s education, having facilities, and physiological status of mother with DQI-I were found. CONCLUSIONS: we found that Household food security status had the most effect on BMI of mothers. In this study, the best nutrient adequacy and dietary diversity were found in the obese group and the most diet quality was found in the normal weight group.