Association between food insecurity and metabolic syndrome in North West of Iran: Azar Cohort study

Introduction: Nowadays, prevalence of metabolic syndrome (MetS) is increasing in the world. There are inconsistence findings about the relationship between food insecurity and MetS. Therefore, the aim of this cross-sectional study was to determine the association between food insecurity and MetS in North West of Iran. Methods: The anthropometric measurements, food insecurity, dietary intake, blood pressure, fasting blood glucose (FBS), serum triglyceride and HDL levels of 151 subjects who had participated in Azar cohort study were evaluated. Food security was assessed by Household Food Security Scale (HFIAS) (six-item short questionnaire) and dietary intake (using 24- hour recall questionnaire) of participants. MetS was defined according to National Cholesterol Education Program’s Adult Treatment Panel III report (ATPIII) criteria. Results: On the basis of HFIAS and energy, 7.3% and 11.9% of participants were food insecure and hunger, respectively. We observed no significant differences in mean body weight, BMI, waist circumference and FBS between food insecure and secure groups. Moreover, obesity (41.7% vs 30.2%) and MetS (45.5% vs 30%) were more prevalent in the food insecure group but the differences were not significant. Conclusion: The most percent of participants in food insecure were obese and had MetS. However, we could not find significant differences between food insecure and food secure groups. Therefore, for achieving more clear results, further studies with large sample size are needed.