A Review of the Impact of Food Policies on Food Security Status and Healthy/Unhealthy Food Consumption

Food security association with some risk factors of obesity-related diseases in Ardabil-Iran population

The aim of the study is the assessment of the food security status and its association with some risk factors of chronic obesity-related diseases in Ardabil-Iran population. METHODS: This cross-sectional study was done between 500 adults of Ardabil that were selected by random sampling from Persian cohort study participants, in January 2019. Food insecurity of study participants was measured using the United States Department of Agriculture 18-item questionnaire. Some risk factors of chronic diseases including fasting blood glucose, lipid profile, liver enzymes, and dietary information were measured on the day of the interview. To assess the association between variables the correlation and linear regression tests were used. RESULTS: Forty-eight and six percent of the study participants were food secure and 51.4% were in food insecurity status. There were a significant difference in weight, blood glucose, blood pressure, and serum triglyceride levels between the food security status groups (P <  0.05). The food insecurity score had significant association with participants, weight (p = 0.005,β= 1.66), serum triglycerides (p = 0.022,β= 0.027), body mass index (p = 0.003,β= 0.645) and fasting blood sugar (p = 0.0001,β= 0.664). CONCLUSION: About half of the participants were in food insecurity status. Food insecurity status can be associated with obesity and some risk factors of chronic obesity-related diseases. This problem requires main food policies to reduce food insecurity in the community.