A Population-based Cross-sectional Study of Food Insecurity and the Influential Factors in Households in Kermanshah, Iran

Background: Food security and access to sufficient healthy food are the basic needs of humans. Food ins ecurity may cause severe health and nutritional problems. Therefore, assessment of food security and the influential factors is essential in different communities. The present study aimed to determine the prevalence of food insecurity in the households in Kermanshah in the west of Iran. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted at 1,185 households in Kermanshah city, which were selected from eight areas via cluster sampling. Data were collected using the questionnaire of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Data analysis was performed in SPSS version 16 using the Kolmogorov-Smirnov test, Pearson's correlation-coefficient, and Kruskal-Wallis test. Results: In total, 69.5% of the households had food insecurity. Significant correlations were observed between food insecurity and family size, occupation status of the household head, number of rooms, monthly income, and education level (P = 0.001). Conclusion: According to the results, food insecurity was highly prevalent in the families in Kermanshah. Therefore, planning and implementation of interventional programs by organizations are recommended for better food access and improving the quality and quantity of food consumption in families.