Peer-reviewed article
[Nutritional situation and food insecurity in the rurality of the eastern colombian region].
Mary Luz Basante Vallejo, Liesen Oliveth González Gamboa, Elizabeth Valoyes Bejarano, Luis Carlos Forero Ballesteros ·
Summary
Written by AI, not yet AICS's view · claude-haiku-4-5-20251001This study examined nutritional status and food insecurity among rural households with children under five in eastern Colombia using data from the 2015 National Nutritional Situation Survey. Acute malnutrition affected 1.4% of children while stunting affected 11.5%, and 61.8% of households experienced food insecurity. The research found that food insecurity was associated with socioeconomic factors including the educational level of household heads and household size. Access to basic services like safe water and sewage systems was limited in the region, with nearly 80% of households lacking sewage systems.
Key points
- Acute malnutrition prevalence was 1.4% and stunting was 11.5% in children under five in rural eastern Colombia
- 61.8% of rural households experienced food insecurity, with 74.4% of insecure households using coping strategies
- Only 67.8% of households had access to aqueduct water and 20.3% had sewage systems
- 38.6% of household heads had education between complete primary and incomplete secondary level
- Food insecurity was associated with educational level of household head and household size
Limitations
This is a cross-sectional descriptive study based on survey data, so it cannot establish causal relationships or explain the mechanisms linking socioeconomic factors to food insecurity. The study does not provide details on the specific coping strategies used or their effectiveness.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE: In Colombia, the highest prevalence of food and nutritional insecurity occurs in rural areas, presenting gaps depending on the region. Therefore, the objective of this paper was to analyze the nutritional situation and food insecurity of rural households with children under five years of age on eastern colombian region. METHODS: A cross-sectional descriptive study derived from the National Nutritional Situation Survey (ENSIN) 2015 was carried out. The sample included 487 rural households with children under five years of age. Nutritional status, socioeconomic factors and food insecurity were characterized. Univariate and bivariate analyses was also performed to determine the association between variables. RESULTS: Acute malnutrition in the region was 1.4%, while stunting was 11.5%. In the households, 38.6% had a schooling level between complete Primary and incomplete Secondary; the 45.8% were made up of two to four people; 32.2% and 79.7% did not have aqueduct to obtain drinking water and sewage systems respectively. Food insecurity was 61.8% and 74.4% of these insecure households have undertaken some coping strategy. CONCLUSIONS: A high prevalence of acute malnutrition and stunting is found in rural eastern Colombia, and food insecurity in the region is associated with socioeconomic factors such as educational level of the head of household and household size.