Associação entre a insegurança alimentar e a prevalência de adição por alimentos em adolescentes que se encontram em situação de vulnerabilidade social

Abstract

Introduction: Social vulnerability, commonly observed among students in public educational institutions, is often associated with food insecurity in the families of these young individuals. In the context of adolescence, this reality can contribute to the development of harmful behaviors, such as food addiction. Objective: The present study aims to investigate the association between food insecurity and food addiction in adolescents in situations of social vulnerability. Methods: This is a cross-sectional observational study, approved by the Research Ethics Committee of UFAL (CAAE: 75923923.9.0000.5013), with a non-probabilistic sample consisting of adolescents aged 15 to 19 years and their respective heads of families. The Youth Food Addiction Scale (YFAS-C) and the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA) were used. Statistical analysis was performed using Jamovi software, employing non-parametric tests (p<0.05), including Chi-square, Fisher's exact test, and Kruskal-Wallis ANOVA to assess the association between variables. Results: The sample consisted of 90 adolescents, of whom 52.2% presented some degree of food insecurity. Only 11.1% reported food addiction, while 80% showed some symptoms related to addiction. No significant association was found between food insecurity and food addiction (p=0.510), nor between food insecurity and addiction symptoms (p=0.15). Conclusion: Despite the high prevalence of food insecurity and food addiction symptoms, no significant association was found between these factors. The relationship between food insecurity and food addiction in adolescents may be more complex, involving unexamined factors. Future studies, with larger samples and longitudinal follow-up, may deepen the understanding of this relationship in vulnerable adolescents.