Insegurança alimentar em estudantes da Universidade Federal da Paraíba

Abstract

To assess the food insecurity prevalence and associated factors among the Federal University of Paraíba students was the objective of this research. A cross-sectional observational study was carried out with a quantitative approach and data from 293 students were analyzed. For data collection, a self-completion form was sent online with the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA), socioeconomic and demographic questions, a food frequency questionnaire from the Brazilian Food and Nutrition Surveillance System and questions about possible difficulties in remaining at the University. A Microsoft Excel spreadsheet was used to perform the descriptive analysis. The students' food secure or insecurity classification was made according to the scores obtained in the EBIA. To verify the relationship between food insecurity and the other study variables, association tests were performed for the qualitative variables and mean comparison tests for the quantitative variables. For all tests performed, p-values less than 0.05 were considered significant. Statistical analyses were performed using Jamovi software. Most students were at some level of food insecurity (60.4%), which was related to the following factors: income, gender, who they live with, transportation used to get to university, work, perception of what it is like to be at university, whether they would drop out of the course due to financial difficulties, and food intake. This study indicates the need for more attention to this population group, highlighting the need to create more support programs for all students in need, with the goal to reach food security.