Comparison of indicators of household food insecurity using data from the 1999 national food consumption survey.
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Date
2006
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Abstract
Information on the present situation of household food insecurity in South Africa is
fragmented. There is no comprehensive study comparing different indicators of
household food security. Better information on the household food security situation in
South Africa would permit relevant policy formulation and better decision-making on
the allocation of limited resources. The availability of a national dataset, the first South
African National Food Consumption Survey data (1999) , provided the opportunity to
investigate some of the issues raised above, and to contribute to knowledge on the
measurement of household food security.
The aim of this study was to use the data from the 1999 National Food Consumption
Survey (NFCS) to :
• Determine and compare the prevalence of household food insecurity using different
indicators of household food security ;
• Determine the overlap of households identified as food insecure by the different
indicators (i.e. how many of the same households are identified as food insecure);
and to
• Investigate whether there was any correlation between the indicators selected .
The indicators of household food security selected were: household income, household
hunger experienced, and using the index child: energy and vitamin A intake (from 24
Hour Recall (24HR) and Quantified Food Frequency data), dietary diversity (from
24HR data) and anthropometric indicators stunting and underweight. The cut offs to
determine food insecure household were those used in the NFCS and the cut off for
dietary diversity was exploratory.
The main results of the study were as follows :
• The prevalence estimates of household food insecurity ranged from 10%
(underweight indicator) to 70% (low income indicator). Rural areas consistently
had a higher prevalence of household food insecurity than urban areas . The Free
State and Northern Cape provinces had higher levels of household food insecurity,
with the Western Cape and Gauteng the lower levels of household food insecurity .
• Quantified Food Frequency (QFF) data yielded lower prevalence of household food
insecurity estimates than 24 hour recall (24HR) data. Household food insecurity as
determined by low vitamin A intakes was higher than that determined by low energy
intakes for both the 24HR and QFF data .
• There was little overlap with the indicators (9-52%), indicating that the same
households were not being identified by the different indicators. Low dietary
diversity, low income, 24HR low vitamin A intake and hunger had higher overlaps
with the other indicators. Only 12 of 2826 households (0.4%) were classified by all
nine indicators as food insecure.
• The dataset revealed a number of statistically significant correlations. Overall , low
dietary diversity, low income, 24HR low energy intake and hunger had the stronger
correlations with the other indicators.
Food security is a complex, multi-dimensional concept, and from the findings of this
study there was clearly no single best indicator of household food insecurity status.
Overall , the five better performing indicators (higher overlaps and correlations) were :
low income, 24 hour recall low energy intake, 24 hour recall low vitamin A intake, low
dietary diversity and hunger; this merits their use over the other selected indicators in
this study. The indicator selected should be appropriate for the purpose it is being used
for, e.g. estimating prevalence of food insecurity versus monitoring the long term
impact of an intervention. There are other important criteria in the selection of an
indicator. Income data on a national scale has the advantage of being available annually
in South Africa, and this saves time and money. The 24HR vitamin A intake and 24HR
energy intake indicators has as its main draw back the skill and time needed to collect
and analyse the information, which increases cost and decreases sustainability. Dietary
diversity and hunger have the advantage of being simple to understand, and quicker and
easier to administer and analyse.
It is suggested that a national food security monitoring system in South Africa uses
more than one indicator, namely : 1) household income from already existing national
data, 2) the potential for including a hunger questionnaire in the census should be
explored, and 3) when further researched and validated, dietary diversity could also be
used in national surveys.
Description
Thesis (M.Sc.)-University of KwaZulu-Natal, Pietermaritzburg, 2006.
Keywords
Nutrition surveys--South Africa., Food consumption--South Africa., Food security--South Africa., Food supply--South Africa., Households--South Africa., Nutrition--South Africa., Malnutrition--South Africa., Children--Nutrition--South Africa., Malnutrition in children--South Africa., Theses--Dietetics and human nutrition.