FOOD SECURITY AND NUTRITION CONSUMPTION AMONG HOUSEHOLDS IN THE SEMI-URBAN FIELD PRACTICE AREA OF K.S. HEGDE MEDICAL ACADEMY, MANGALORE: A PILOT STUDY

Abstract

Introduction: Food security is defined as “Access by all people at all times to enough food for an active, healthy life”. The deprivation of basic need represented by food insecurity and hunger are possible precursors to nutritional, health, and developmental problemsObjectives: To assess the food security and the pattern of nutrient intake among the households of field practice areas and to describe the relationship between food security with various socio demographic factors and select diseases like diabetes and hypertension.Methodology: A cross sectional study was conducted in households of Kuthar and Manjanady villages of Dakshina Kannada district from June- August 2014. The Food Security Core-Module Questionnaire in the Guide to Measuring Household Food Security (Revised 2000) prepared by United States Department of Agriculture was used in this study. The questionnaire was translated to local languages (Kannada and Malayalam) and linguistic validation was done. The data was analysed using SPSS software.Results: Around 53% of the houses studies were food secure followed by households with food insecurity with no hunger. Majority of the houses had carbohydrate and protein as their predominant nutrient intake. Majority of the households spending 26-50% of the total income on food were food secure. Among the food secure households, diabetes was present in nearly half the housesConclusions: The study area does not have hunger as a problem but still food insecurity exists, with upto 50% of income spent on food.