Food insecurity is associated with food consumption patterns and anthropometric measures but not serum micronutrient levels in adults in rural Tanzania.

OBJECTIVE:

The purpose of the present paper is to assess the relationship between food insecurity and food consumption patterns, anthropometric measures and serum micronutrient levels in rural Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

DESIGN:

A population-based cross-sectional study was carried out between March and May of 2005.

SETTING:

Rural Kilimanjaro, Tanzania.

SUBJECTS:

Analysis was restricted to 1014 adults aged 15-44 years with children and complete data.

RESULTS:

A large majority of the participants (91 %) reported some kind of food insecurity. Food insecurity was significantly associated with age, marital status and occupation. Participants reporting food insecurity were significantly less likely to frequently consume animal products, fruits and vegetables compared with participants categorized as food secure. Women categorized as experiencing individual food insecurity had a larger waist circumference than food-secure women (P = 0.026) while the mean BMI of women appeared to decline if they had a child who was food insecure (P = 0.038). There were no observed differences in serum micronutrient levels by food insecurity status.

CONCLUSIONS:

Food insecurity is highly prevalent and associated with food consumption patterns, waist circumference and BMI of women in rural Tanzania. Further studies should apply self-report measures in assessing food insecurity to larger and more diversified populations.