Prevalence and correlates of food insecurity among Lebanese households with children aged 4–18 years: findings from a national cross-sectional study

OBJECTIVE: Food insecurity (FI) is a major public health problem in Lebanon, a small middle-income country with the highest refugee per capita concentration worldwide and prolonged political and economic challenges. The present study aimed to measure the prevalence and sociodemographic correlates of household FI and to explore the association of household FI with anthropometric measures of children and their mothers. DESIGN: Cross-sectional survey (2014–2015). SETTING: Lebanon. PARTICIPANTS: Nationally representative sample of Lebanese households with 4–18-year-old-children and their mothers (n 1204). RESULTS: FI prevalence (95 % CI), measured using the Arabic-translated, validated Household Food Insecurity Access Scale, was found to be 49·3 (44·0, 54·6) % in the study sample. Mild, moderate and severe FI were found in 7·0 (5·5, 9·2) %, 23·3 (20·1, 26·8) % and 18·9 (14·9, 23·5) % of households, respectively. Multiple regression analysis showed that low maternal and paternal education, unemployment and crowding were significant correlates of household FI (P<0·05). No significant associations were observed between FI and anthropometric measures of children and their mothers, after adjusting for other socio-economic correlates. Food-insecure households reported various mechanisms to cope with food shortage, such as reducing the number of meals/d (49·6 %), borrowing food (54·4 %), spending savings (34·5 %) and withdrawing children from schools (8·0 %). CONCLUSIONS: FI exists among a remarkable proportion of Lebanese households with children. Correlates of household FI should be considered when designing social welfare policies and public health programmes to promote more sustainable, resilient and healthier livelihoods among vulnerable individuals.