Food and nutritional insecurity in Brazil and its correlation with vulnerability markers

Abstract

This study aimed to analyze space-time distribution of the prevalence of food and nutritional insecurity (FNI) in the Brazilian Federative Units and their correlation with vulnerability markers. This is an ecological study, with data from the National Household Sample Survey (2004, 2009 and 2013) and Atlas Brazil (2010). A time analysis of the spatial distribution of FNI prevalence was performed. Moran’s Index was used in bivariate spatial analysis. The prevalence of FNI have decreased along the years studied and showed a negative and moderate spatial correlation with the Human Development Index; a positive and moderate correlation with the percentage of the extremely poor, child mortality, social vulnerability index, human capital social vulnerability index; and positive and strong correlation with income and work social vulnerability index. We can conclude that there was a lower prevalence of FNI in the analyzed years and that the Brazilian territory showed two distinct patterns: territories with higher FNI prevalence and worse conditions as regards income, work and child health in the North and Northeast; and territories with lower FNI prevalence and lower vulnerability in the Midwest, Southeast and South.

Key words
Food security; Social vulnerability; Social determinants of health; Spatial analysis