Resumo

SOTO DE SANABRIA, Ingrid et al. Household food security of patients attending to the service of nutrition, growth and development. An Venez Nutr [online]. 2006, vol.19, n.2, pp.61-68. ISSN 0798-0752.

The objective of this work is to measure the household food security (HFS) of patients attending to the service of Nutrition, Growth and Development of the Children’s Hospital "J.M. de los Rios" and it was developed from August, 25 to October 31 2003. A scale adapted and validated in Venezuela was used to determine HFS. Each patient had a complete evaluation of nutritional state and growth. It was used a sample of 613 families. 32% of housewives defined their homes as secure and 68% with some degree of food insecurity, predominantly mild insecurity (56.4%), especially in big or extended families living in poverty, with low income and the mother as home head and with little or none academic preparation. In these homes with high food insecurity (79.4%), children showed some degree of nutritional deficit, mainly severe, finding that apart from the abject poverty, the internal adjustments they made were not enough to face food insecurity. HFS was related with the social economical situation of the family and patients’ nutritional condition. We recommended establishing a food security policy, focused on individuals, especially in the most vulnerable ones, and monitoring food security in homes.

Palavras-chave : Household food security; poverty; malnutrition.