Fatores determinantes da insegurança alimentar e nutricional: estudo realizado em Restaurantes Populares de Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brasil Determinants of food and nutrition insecurity: a study conducted in Low-budget Restaurants in Belo Horizonte in the state of Minas Gerais, Brazil

Abstract The scope of this study is to evaluate thecondition of household food and nutrition(in)security (IAN) of the users of low-budget res-taurants in Belo Horizonte (BH). This is an an-alytical cross-sectional study carried out on alllow-budget restaurants and cafeteria in BH witha sample of 1613 users. The IAN was assessedusing the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale andcross-checked with the socioeconomic profile ofthe users. The Chi-square and Mann-Whitneytests were applied. All p-value < 0.25 variableswere included in the multivariate analysis. Thegroups most exposed to IAN among users of low-budget restaurants are those with a lower socio-economic level and per capita income class andthose with a large number of residents in thehousehold. Also affected are those who admit tohaving different kinds of wants and needs, andthose for whom price and living alone are themain reasons for frequenting low-budget restau-rants. The factors affecting the IAN are variedand multi-factorial, thus representing a majorchallenge for public policy makers and for thosewho live directly with these dietary restrictions.The low-budget restaurants serve as a strategy forpromoting healthy eating habits.