Food environments and association with household food insecurity: a systematic review.

OBJECTIVE: We evaluated the available literature on the association between characteristics of the food environment and household food insecurity. STUDY DESIGN: Systematic review. METHODS: Studies published until January 9th, 2023, were searched in the PubMed, Web of Science, Science Direct, EMBASE and LILACS databases. The included studies were summarized with a narrative synthesis with information on the study location, population studied, prevalence and type of measure/instrument used to assess food (in)security, method of evaluating the food environment and measure between food insecurity and food environment. RESULTS: Twenty-two articles were included. Different methods were used to measure food security and the food environment. Most food insecurity assessment tools assessed the dimension of access to food, more precisely economic access. The dimensions of the food environment most evaluated were food availability and affordability. An association between characteristics of the food environment and food insecurity was found in 18 of these studies. Homes with food insecurity have a greater availability of unhealthy foods, more frequent purchasing of foods in convenience stores and small markets as well as a lower availability of healthy foods, such as fruits and vegetables. CONCLUSIONS: This review revealed that household food insecurity was associated with the food environment, highlighting the importance of policies to promote healthy diets, especially in vulnerable communities. Few studies were found in the Global South, demonstrating the gap in this knowledge in these locations.

Assessment of copper and lipid profile in obese children and adolescents.

The aim of this study was to assess erythrocyte and plasma copper concentrations and correlate them with the lipid profile of overweight and obese children and adolescents. The study was performed with 15 overweight and 30 obese children and adolescents, and the results were compared to the control group (21), aged 6-16 yr. Anthropometric assessment was carried out using body mass index (BMI). Total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol, and triglyceride serum levels were investigated. Erythrocyte and plasma copper levels were determined by atomic absorption spectrophotometry. Greater alterations in the lipid profile were observed in HDL-cholesterol, LDL-cholesterol, and triglyceride levels, with distinctions according to gender. The plasma copper concentrations in the overweight and obese male groups were significantly higher than those in the control group (p = 0.0006). Negative correlations between plasma copper and total cholesterol (r = -0.54) and LDL cholesterol (r = -0.59) were observed in the obese male group. There was no statistical difference in copper erythrocyte concentrations. The obesity associated to disorders in lipid metabolism predisposes to changes in copper plasma concentrations, but there was no alteration in intracellular reserves, which suggests an important homeostatic control to compensate for plasma oscillations and metabolic alterations of the disease.