Sociodemographic Characteristics Associated With Food-Insecure Households With Preschool and School Children: Findings From the ObesInCrisis Study

ObjectiveFollowing the last global economic crisis, Europe imposed austerity policies with significant influence on the households' food security. This study aimed to examine the characteristics of food-insecure households with children with normal body weight and overweight/obesity with other sociodemographic and family characteristics, following the last world financial crisis.MethodsA cross-sectional study was conducted with 4737 children living in Portugal. Household food insecurity was assessed using the Household Food Insecurity Scale. Children's nutritional status and sociodemographic indicators were measured.ResultsOur results showed that 13.2% of children were living in food-insecure households, from which 25.5% were overweight/obesity. Food-insecure households were more likely to include children at school age (OR = 1.195, 95% CI: 1.008-1.416), females (OR = 1.245, 95% CI: 1.051-1.476) and living in the district of Lisbon (OR = 1.369, 95% CI: 1.130-1.659), compared to those from food-secure households. HFI was associated with having parents under 40 years old (fathers: OR = 1.321, 95% CI: 1.104-1.581 and mothers: OR = 1.362, 95% CI: 1.141-1.627), fathers with low and medium levels of education (OR = 5.967, 95% CI: 4.584-7.767 and OR = 2.666, 95% CI: 2.050-3.467, respectively), as well as mothers' low and medium education (OR = 5.083, 95% CI: 3.982-6.488 and OR = 3.202, 95% CI: 2.599-3.945, respectively), and not working fathers (OR = 3.160, 95% CI: 2.415-4.317) or mothers (OR = 2.706, 95% CI: 2.197-3.332). After adjustments, only the association with the paternal age lost its statistical significance. No other significant associations were observed in other household sociodemographic components.ConclusionIt should be recognized the need for socioeconomic interventions to empower women and close the gender gap between female- and male-headed households.