Household availability of food based on the new classification of food and nutritional (In)security

Abstract

The scope of this research was to characterize the household availability of food based on the classification adopted in the new Brazilian food guide and to analyze its relationship with food (in)security. It involved a population-based, cross-sectional study conducted in 95 households in the State of Tocantins. Food (in)security was evaluated by means of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale. The household availability of food in the last 30 days was recorded and, subsequently, food was classified as in natura and/or minimally processed, processed and ultra-processed accord-ing to the new Brazilian food guide. The prevalence of food insecurity was 55.79%. It was found that the foods of the in natura and ultra-processed groups contributed the most to the household availability of food. There was a positive and significant relationship between the food security and food availability rates: milk, animal fat, canned food and cheese bread. The prevalence of food insecurity was high in this population group. In households with a higher level of food security, the availability of milk, animal fat, canned goods and cheese bread was significantly higher.