From Concept to Action: Measuring Food and Nutrition Insecurity in Europe - Midiendo la Inseguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional en Europa

** The content of this post relates to the following publication / El contenido de esta publicación se relaciona con la siguiente publicación:

Carrillo-álvarez, E. (2023). Perspective: Food and nutrition insecurity in Europe: Challenges and opportunities for Dietitians. Advances in Nutrition. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.advnut.2023.07.008

From Concept to Action: Measuring Food and Nutrition Insecurity in Europe

In my previous post, we explored the nuanced world of "food security," "nutrition security," and "food and nutrition security." We uncovered the importance of not just having enough to eat but also savoring the entire experience, including the cultural and social aspects of food.

Now, let's dive into the implications for action and policy. How we conceptualize and measure these aspects can shape the way we address food and nutrition insecurity in Europe.

The measurement of food insecurity in high-income countries involves various approaches, such as nation-based estimates, household food access scales, food affordability analysis, dietary diversity, and undernutrition measures. In Europe, national monitoring of food insecurity is limited, with Portugal and the UK being exceptions. The European Survey on Living Conditions (EUSiLC) uses the "cannot afford a meal with meat, fish or vegetarian equivalent every second day" indicator to assess food-related material deprivation. The FAO State of Food Insecurity Report employs the Food Insecurity Experience Scale (FIES) for cross-country comparisons, while other validated scales like HFIAS and HFSSM are used in specific European population studies.

Proxy indicators, like food bank utilization, affordability, household income, and trends in malnutrition and health markers, offer additional insights into food insecurity. However, standardized measures that encompass nutritional and social sufficiency are needed to comprehensively address the issue.

The assessment of nutrition security in Europe is less developed, often lacking integration with food insecurity assessments. Measures include dietary diversity and nutritional status, with the prevalence of undernourishment being a common global measure. The FAO's definition of nutrition security includes various prerequisites, but current measures do not fully capture this information.

The 2022 FAO High-Level Panel of Experts (HLPE) report emphasizes the need for refined data collection tools, incorporating nutritional and dietary intake, diet quality, and psychosocial impact of food insecurity, along with individual, household, and social conditions. While EU-funded projects address food insecurity, most focus on national food security through the agrifood system, rather than household and individual levels.Monitoring food and nutrition insecurity is crucial for targeted interventions and identifying populations at risk of poor health.

Developing comprehensive measures will better address food and nutrition insecurity in Europe, despite relative food supply assurance in high-income countries.

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De la Conceptualización a la Acción: Midiendo la Inseguridad Alimentaria y Nutricional en Europa

En la publicación anterior, exploramos el los matices de los términos "seguridad alimentaria", "seguridad nutricional", "seguridad alimentaria y nutricional", descubriendo la importancia de no solo tener suficiente para comer, sino también disfrutar de toda la experiencia, incluyendo los aspectos culturales y sociales de la comida.

Ahora, adentrémonos en las implicaciones para la acción y la política. Cómo conceptualizamos y medimos estos aspectos puede dar forma a la forma en que abordamos la inseguridad alimentaria y nutricional en Europa.

La medición de la inseguridad alimentaria en países de ingresos altos involucra diversos enfoques, como estimaciones a nivel nacional, escalas de acceso alimentario en los hogares, análisis de asequibilidad de alimentos, diversidad dietética y medidas de desnutrición. En Europa, el monitoreo nacional de la inseguridad alimentaria es limitado, con Portugal y el Reino Unido como excepciones. La Encuesta Europea sobre Condiciones de Vida (EUSiLC) utiliza el indicador "no puede pagar una comida con carne, pescado o equivalente vegetariano cada segundo día" para evaluar la privación material relacionada con los alimentos. El Informe sobre el Estado de la Inseguridad Alimentaria de la FAO emplea la Escala de Experiencia de Inseguridad Alimentaria (FIES) para comparaciones entre países, mientras que otras escalas validadas como HFIAS y HFSSM se utilizan en estudios de población específicos en Europa.

Los indicadores proxy, como la utilización de bancos de alimentos, la asequibilidad, los ingresos familiares y las tendencias en malnutrición y marcadores de salud, ofrecen información adicional sobre la inseguridad alimentaria. Sin embargo, se necesitan medidas estandarizadas que abarquen la suficiencia nutricional y social para abordar de manera integral el problema.

La evaluación de la seguridad nutricional en Europa está menos desarrollada y a menudo carece de integración con las evaluaciones de la inseguridad alimentaria. Las medidas incluyen la diversidad dietética y el estado nutricional, siendo la prevalencia de la desnutrición una medida global común. La definición de la seguridad nutricional de la FAO incluye varios requisitos previos, pero las medidas actuales no capturan completamente esta información.

El informe de alto nivel de expertos (HLPE) de la FAO en 2022 enfatiza la necesidad de herramientas refinadas de recopilación de datos que incluyan no solo la ingesta nutricional y dietética, sino también la calidad de la dieta y el impacto psicosocial de la inseguridad alimentaria, junto con las condiciones individuales, familiares y sociales. Si bien los proyectos financiados por la UE abordan la inseguridad alimentaria, la mayoría se centran en la seguridad alimentaria nacional a través del sistema agroalimentario, en lugar de los niveles de hogares e individuos.

La vigilancia de la inseguridad alimentaria y nutricional es crucial para intervenciones dirigidas e identificar poblaciones en riesgo de mala salud. El desarrollo de medidas integrales abordará mejor la inseguridad alimentaria y nutricional en Europa, a pesar del aseguramiento relativo del suministro de alimentos en países de altos ingresos.

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