Insegurança alimentar e estado nutricional de mulheres marisqueiras do Baixo São Francisco, Sergipe, Brasil: um estudo transversal

Abstract

Introduction: Women engaged in artisanal fishing constitute a socially and economically vulnerable population in Brazil in which the magnitude of food insecurity remains poorly documented. Objective: This study assessed the prevalence of food insecurity, its associated socioeconomic determinants, and the nutritional status of women engaged in artisanal fishing in the Lower São Francisco region, Northeastern Brazil. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 127 women. Food insecurity was measured using the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA), and anthropometric indicators included body mass index (BMI) and markers of central adiposity: waist circumference and waist-to-height ratio. Associations with moderate to-severe food insecurity were examined using Poisson regression with robust variance. Results: The overall prevalence of food insecurity was 89.0% (95% confidence interval [CI]: 82.2–93.4), distributed as 36.2% mild, 29.1% moderate, and 23.6% severe. Low household income was independently associated with moderate-to-severe food insecurity (adjusted prevalence ratio [aPR]: 1.55; 95% CI: 1.08–2.21; p = 0.016), as was residence in households with eight or more members (aPR: 1.95; 95% CI: 1.23–3.12; p = 0.005). Conclusion: Excess weight and central adiposity were highly prevalent, indicating elevated cardiovascular risk; however, anthropometric indicators were not associated with food insecurity severity. Women artisanal fishers in this rural territory experience extremely high levels of food insecurity, driven primarily by income insufficiency and household resource constraints, coexisting with substantial metabolic vulnerability.