Food poverty among children aged 6–59 months in Brazil: results from the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition (ENANI-2019)

Objective:

To describe the prevalence of food poverty according to dimensions of socio-economic inequality and the food groups consumed by Brazilian children.

Design:

Dietary data from a structured qualitative questionnaire collected by the Brazilian National Survey on Child Nutrition (ENANI-2019) were used. The new UNICEF indicator classified children who consumed 3–4 and <3 out of the eight food groups as living in moderate and severe food poverty, respectively. The prevalence of consumption of each food group and ultra-processed foods (UPF) was estimated by level of food poverty according to age categories (6–23; 24–59 months). The most frequent combinations of food groups consumed by children living in severe food poverty were calculated. Prevalence of levels of food poverty were explored according to socio-economic variables.

Setting:

123 municipalities of the five Brazilian macro-regions.

Participants:

12 582 children aged 6–59 months.

Results:

The prevalence of moderate and severe food poverty was 32·5 % (95 % CI 30·1, 34·9) and 6·0 % (95 % CI 5·0, 6·9), respectively. Children whose mother/caregiver had lower education (<8 years) and income levels (per capita minimum wage <¼) had the highest severe food poverty prevalence of 8·3 % (95 % CI 6·2, 10·4) and 7·5 % (95 % CI 5·6, 9·4), respectively. The most consumed food groups among children living in food poverty in all age categories were ‘dairy products’, ‘grains, roots, tubers, and plantains’ and ‘ultra-processed foods’.

Conclusion:

Food poverty prevalence was high among Brazilian children. A significant occurrence of milk consumption associated with grains and a considerable prevalence of UPF consumption were found among those living in severe food poverty.