Association of Food Insecurity and Weight Status of Women in Tuba Island, Malaysia

Syahrul Bariah Abdul Hamid^1,2, Mohammad Firdaus Mat Razali¹, Farhanah Ahmad Suhaimi¹ and Norazmir Md Nor^1,2,3*

¹Centre for Nutrition and Dietetics Studies, Faculty of Health Sciences, Universiti Teknologi MARA, UiTM Cawangan Selangor, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

²Maternal, Infant and Young Child Nutrition Research Group, Universiti Teknologi MARA, UiTM Cawangan Selangor, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

³Integrative Pharmacogenomics Institute, Universiti Teknologi MARA, UiTM Cawangan Selangor, Puncak Alam, Selangor, Malaysia.

Corresponding Author Email: azmir2790@uitm.edu.my

Global concern is food insecurity and low weight status, contributing to poor health outcomes. Food deficiency happens when people can't get enough food much of the time; on the other hand, low weight status occurs when people eat more or less than they need. Women are a potentially vulnerable group of people facing weight and food insecurity. Therefore, this research was intended to establish the connection between the status of food insecurity and the weight status of women on Tuba Island. This is a cross-sectional study design, and about 114 women aged 18-45 years have participated in Tuba Island. The Radimer/Cornell hunger and food insecurity questionnaire and anthropometric measurements are the study's measurement methods. Via a face-to-face interview, this research was carried out. With 64.9 percent and 35.1 percent, respectively, the incidence of food insecurity was higher than food security. The prevalence of low weight status (underweight, overweight and obese) was 71.9%, which was just 28.1% higher than good weight status (normal weight). There was a significant relationship between job status (p=0.019) and household income (p=0.006) in terms of food insecurity; however, there was no significant relationship between food insecurity and weight status (p=0.437). This study showed no correlation between food insecurity and women's weight status on Tuba Island, although there is an association between job status and household income with food insecurity.

Food Security; Food Insecurity; Nutritional Status,;Weight Status

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