The Ukraine–Russia War Is Deepening Food Insecurity, Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and the Lack of Dietary Diversity in Lebanon: Prevalence, Correlates and Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Study
Background: Due to Russia and Ukraine’s key roles in supplying cereals and oilseeds, the Russia–Ukraine war intensifies the current food availability and price challenges in Lebanon, which is a major wheat importer. Given these constraints, we conducted this study to assess the prevalence and correl...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2022-08-01
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| Series: | Nutrients |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/17/3504 |
| _version_ | 1797493881681477632 |
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| author | Nour Yazbeck Rania Mansour Hassan Salame Nazih Bou Chahine Maha Hoteit |
| author_facet | Nour Yazbeck Rania Mansour Hassan Salame Nazih Bou Chahine Maha Hoteit |
| author_sort | Nour Yazbeck |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Background: Due to Russia and Ukraine’s key roles in supplying cereals and oilseeds, the Russia–Ukraine war intensifies the current food availability and price challenges in Lebanon, which is a major wheat importer. Given these constraints, we conducted this study to assess the prevalence and correlates of food insecurity, low dietary diversity (DD), unhealthy dietary patterns, and the shifts in households’ food-related habits in response to the Russia–Ukraine war among a representative sample of Lebanese household’s members aged 18 years and above (N = 914). Methods: Data were collected between June and July 2022 using self-administered questionnaires; Results: Findings showed that nearly half of the households consume an undiversified diet (46%), and 55.3% ate fewer than two meals per day. The prevalence of food insecurity among Lebanese households was 74%, with one in every four households being severely food insecure. In addition, the majority of households’ members went out shopping and purchased food less than the pre-war period (68.7% and 70.3%, respectively). Furthermore, almost 68.3% of households’ members highlighted price increases for cereal products, which were the least available and most stocked items. Findings obtained through binary logistic regression also showed that food insecurity was two times higher among households with low monthly income, 35% higher among females, and three times higher among married participants; Conclusions: The impact of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on food security in Lebanon requires a systems-thinking approach as well as international effort to understand the challenges and find solutions to minimize the war’s negative effects. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:26:21Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-ebad41900cae44bf877948b4fe1b56a2 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2072-6643 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-10T01:26:21Z |
| publishDate | 2022-08-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Nutrients |
| spelling | doaj.art-ebad41900cae44bf877948b4fe1b56a22023-11-23T13:51:33ZengMDPI AGNutrients2072-66432022-08-011417350410.3390/nu14173504The Ukraine–Russia War Is Deepening Food Insecurity, Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and the Lack of Dietary Diversity in Lebanon: Prevalence, Correlates and Findings from a National Cross-Sectional StudyNour Yazbeck0Rania Mansour1Hassan Salame2Nazih Bou Chahine3Maha Hoteit4Doctoral School of Sciences and Technology (DSST), Lebanese University, Hadath 6573, LebanonProgram of Social Work, School of Social Sciences and Humanities, Doha Institute for Graduate Studies, Doha P.O. Box 200592, QatarLebanese University Task Force, Lebanese University, Beirut 6573, LebanonLebanese University Task Force, Lebanese University, Beirut 6573, LebanonFaculty of Public Health, Section 1, Lebanese University, Beirut 6573, LebanonBackground: Due to Russia and Ukraine’s key roles in supplying cereals and oilseeds, the Russia–Ukraine war intensifies the current food availability and price challenges in Lebanon, which is a major wheat importer. Given these constraints, we conducted this study to assess the prevalence and correlates of food insecurity, low dietary diversity (DD), unhealthy dietary patterns, and the shifts in households’ food-related habits in response to the Russia–Ukraine war among a representative sample of Lebanese household’s members aged 18 years and above (N = 914). Methods: Data were collected between June and July 2022 using self-administered questionnaires; Results: Findings showed that nearly half of the households consume an undiversified diet (46%), and 55.3% ate fewer than two meals per day. The prevalence of food insecurity among Lebanese households was 74%, with one in every four households being severely food insecure. In addition, the majority of households’ members went out shopping and purchased food less than the pre-war period (68.7% and 70.3%, respectively). Furthermore, almost 68.3% of households’ members highlighted price increases for cereal products, which were the least available and most stocked items. Findings obtained through binary logistic regression also showed that food insecurity was two times higher among households with low monthly income, 35% higher among females, and three times higher among married participants; Conclusions: The impact of the Russia–Ukraine conflict on food security in Lebanon requires a systems-thinking approach as well as international effort to understand the challenges and find solutions to minimize the war’s negative effects.https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/17/3504Russia–Ukraine warfood insecurityLebanonhouseholdsdietary patterns |
| spellingShingle | Nour Yazbeck Rania Mansour Hassan Salame Nazih Bou Chahine Maha Hoteit The Ukraine–Russia War Is Deepening Food Insecurity, Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and the Lack of Dietary Diversity in Lebanon: Prevalence, Correlates and Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Study Nutrients Russia–Ukraine war food insecurity Lebanon households dietary patterns |
| title | The Ukraine–Russia War Is Deepening Food Insecurity, Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and the Lack of Dietary Diversity in Lebanon: Prevalence, Correlates and Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full | The Ukraine–Russia War Is Deepening Food Insecurity, Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and the Lack of Dietary Diversity in Lebanon: Prevalence, Correlates and Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_fullStr | The Ukraine–Russia War Is Deepening Food Insecurity, Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and the Lack of Dietary Diversity in Lebanon: Prevalence, Correlates and Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_full_unstemmed | The Ukraine–Russia War Is Deepening Food Insecurity, Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and the Lack of Dietary Diversity in Lebanon: Prevalence, Correlates and Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_short | The Ukraine–Russia War Is Deepening Food Insecurity, Unhealthy Dietary Patterns and the Lack of Dietary Diversity in Lebanon: Prevalence, Correlates and Findings from a National Cross-Sectional Study |
| title_sort | ukraine russia war is deepening food insecurity unhealthy dietary patterns and the lack of dietary diversity in lebanon prevalence correlates and findings from a national cross sectional study |
| topic | Russia–Ukraine war food insecurity Lebanon households dietary patterns |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2072-6643/14/17/3504 |
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