Food Insecurity and Nutritional Status Among Pregnant Women Living in Socio‐Economic Vulnerability in the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (Argentina)

Abstract

Objective: To analyze food insecurity (FI) in pregnant women from the Metropolitan Area of Buenos Aires (AMBA) and itsassociation with socio-economicvariables and nutritional status, as well as to identify dietary patterns in women experiencingmoderate and severe FI.Methods: Between July 2021 and September 2023, an observational and cross-sectionalstudy was performed. Data from 349women was recorded in public health centers of disadvantaged urban areas. FI was assessed with the Food Insecurity ExperienceScale (FIES), and the nutritional status was evaluated using the body mass index by gestational age. Chi-square,Spearman, andWilcoxon tests were used to examine associations between FI, nutritional status, socioeconomic conditions, and dietary patterns.Results: Only 30% of interviewed women were classified as food secure, while 31% experienced moderate FI and 11.5% severe FI.Among socio-economicvariables, fewer years of formal education and critical overcrowding were significantly associated withFI. A large part of the sample (68%) had some type of malnutrition (overweight or obesity: 52.7%, undernutrition: 11.2%), whichwas also significantly associated with FI. Dietary patterns differed between women with moderate and severe FI, with the latterconsuming less healthy and more processed foods.Conclusions: Our results suggest that women in reproductive ages living in urban areas from the AMBA region have elevatedlevels of FI, especially moderate FI, even when compared with other vulnerable populations from Latin America. This study confirmedthat FI is related to different types of maternal malnutrition, which constitutes a prenatal adversity with diverse potentialeffects on the offspring.