Food insecurity in the state of Nayarit, Mexico, and its association with socioeconomic factors

Objetive. To estimate the proportion of households with food insecurity (FI) in twenty municipalities in the state of Nayarit, Mexico, and to identify the factors that determine it. Materials and methods. FI was estimated using the harmonized version for Mexico of the Latin American and Caribbean household food security scale (ELCSA). Households were classified according to FI level: mild, moderate and severe. The distribution of FI was described by type of locality and prevalence of FI was analyzed by associated variables. Results. 76.2% of households were identified with some FI level. The prevalence of FI was higher in rural households. Food insecurity situation was focused on households with the highest number of children under five years, highest number of older than 64 years, highest number of household members, female headship and less schooling of the household head. Conclusions. ELCSA can be useful to associate FI with socioeconomic factors.