FOOD INSECURITY STATUS AND RELATED FACTORS IN MINIMUM WAGE WORKERS

Year 2024, Volume: 5 Issue: 1, 8 - 15, 30.04.2024

Aysun Yüksel , Aslı Hilal Güzelalp , Neslihan Albayrak , Edanur Taş , İlayda Soylu

https://doi.org/10.52831/kjhs.1392547

Abstract

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the food insecurity and nutrition status of individuals working for minimum wage and to identify associated factors.
Method: The study was carried out with 189 voluntary females and 197 males working for the minimum wage in various workplaces in the Üsküdar district of Istanbul between February 01, 2022, and March 31, 2022. Descriptive characteristics, dietary habits and food consumption frequency with quantity were inquired and recorded for all participants. In addition, the Household Food Insecurity Access Scale was administered to individuals. All data were collected through face-to-face interviews. Energy and nutrient intakes were determined utilizing the BeBIS 8.2 program. The obtained data were analyzed using the IBM SPSS 22.0 software package. The significance level was accepted as p<0.05.
Results: According to the results, out of the total 386 participants, 52.1% were food secure, while 47.9% were not. The majority of food insecure individuals (45.4%) were university graduates. It was observed that the partcipants who were food secure, consumed more dairy products (p=0.040), fruits and vegetables (p<0.01) compared to food insecure individuals. In contrast, animal protein sources (p=0.010), fats (p=0.001), and the bread and cereal group (p<0.001) were found to be consumed more by food insecure individuals. Significant associations were identified between food insecurity and age, additional income for nutrition, and smoking status. A unit increase in age was determined to decrease food insecurity by 0.52 units (p=0.015).
Conclusion: Determining the food insecurity status of individuals working for minimum wages as well as addressing diseases related to nutrition will be a crucial step in preventing inadequate and imbalanced nutrition. Making healthy foods more affordable or increasing the overall living standard of individuals is necessary for the continuation of proper nutrition and health.

Keywords

Minimum Wage, Nutrition, Food Insecurity

ASGARİ ÜCRET ÇALIŞANLARINDA GIDA GÜVENCESİZLİĞİ DURUMU VE İLİŞKİLİ FAKTÖRLER

Abstract

Amaç: Bu çalışma asgari ücretle çalışan bireylerin gıda güvencesizliği ve beslenme durumunun saptanması ve ilişkili faktörlerin belirlenmesi amacıyla yapılmıştır.
Yöntem: Çalışma 01 Şubat 2022-31 Mart 2022 tarihinde, İstanbul ili Üsküdar ilçesinde çeşitli iş yerlerinde asgari ücret karşılığında çalışan, gönüllü 189 kadın ve 197 erkek ile yürütülmüştür. Çalışmaya katılan tüm bireylerin tanımlayıcı özellikleri, beslenme alışkanlıkları ve besin tüketim sıklığı-miktarı sorgulanıp kaydedilmiş, bireylerden Hanehalkı Gıda Güvencesizliği Erişim ölçeğini doldurmaları istenmiştir. Tüm veriler yüz yüze toplanmıştır. Elde edilen veriler IBM SPSS 22.0 paket programıyla analiz edilmiştir. Anlamlılık düzeyi p<0,05’tir.
Bulgular: Çalışmaya katılan toplam 389 asgari ücret çalışanının %49’u kadın ve %51’i erkektir. Asgari ücret çalışanlarının %52.1’inin gıda güvenceli, %47.9’unun gıda güvencesiz olduğu belirlenmiştir. Süt ürünleri, et grubu, ekmek ve tahıllar, yağ ve sebze-meyve gruplarının tüketiminin gıda güvenceli ve gıda güvencesiz bireyler arasında farklı olduğu görülmüştür (p<0.05). Tüm bireylerin süt grubu ile meyve-sebze grubundaki besinleri yetersiz tükettiği saptanmıştır. Gıda güvencesizliği ile yaş, ek beslenme geliri ve sigara içme durumu arasında anlamlı ilişki bulunmuştur.
Sonuç: Gıda güvencesizliği, daha çok düşük gelirli aileleri etkileyen önemli bir halk sağlığı sorunudur. Asgari ücretle çalışan bireylerin gıda güvencesizliği açısından değerlendirilmesi gerektiği ve uygun fiyatlı sağlıklı besinlere erişimin sağlanarak, yetersiz ve dengesiz beslenmenin ve beslenmeye bağlı oluşabilecek hastalıkların önüne geçilebilir.

Keywords

Asgari Ücret, Beslenme, Gıda Güvencesizliği

Ethical Statement

Çalışma için etik kurul onayı Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Hamidiye Bilimsel Araştırmalar Etik Kurulu tarafından 31.12.2021tarihinde 21/761 karar sayısı ile alınmıştır.

Thanks

Çalışmanın veri toplama aşamasına destek olan Sağlık Bilimleri Üniversitesi Beslenme ve Diyetetik Bölümü öğrencilerinden Erhan Küçükodacı’ya ve tüm katılımcılara teşekkür ederiz.

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