Table 3.
Bivariate analysis of factors associated with the food insecurity categories
| Food secure | Moderate food insecurity | Severe food insecurity | p | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Governorate | < 0.001 | |||
| Beirut | 130 (37.6%) | 126 (36.4%) | 90 (26.0%) | |
| Mount Lebanon | 419 (31.3%) | 576 (43.0%) | 345 (25.7%) | |
| North | 277 (16.0%) | 589 (34.0%) | 867 (50.0%) | |
| South | 106 (37.3%) | 101 (35.6%) | 77 (27.1%) | |
| Bekaa | 67 (22.5%) | 113 (37.9%) | 118 (39.6%) | |
| Altitude of the area of residence | 0.004 | |||
| 0–600 m | 711 (26.3%) | 1029 (38.1%) | 961 (35.6%) | |
| 601–1000 m | 218 (22.8%) | 352 (36.8%) | 387 (40.4%) | |
| > 1000 m | 70 (20.4%) | 124 (36.2%) | 149 (43.4%) | |
| Gender of the parent | < 0.001 | |||
| Male | 105 (17.6%) | 197 (33.1%) | 294 (49.3%) | |
| Female | 894 (26.3%) | 1308 (38.4%) | 1203 (35.3%) | |
| Marital status | 0.267 | |||
| Married | 964 (25.2%) | 1435 (37.5%) | 1426 (37.3%) | |
| Divorced | 8 (16.7%) | 16 (33.3%) | 24 (50.0%) | |
| Widowed | 27 (21.1%) | 54 (42.2%) | 47 (36.7%) | |
| Education level | < 0.001 | |||
| Primary | 47 (9.3%) | 123 (24.3%) | 336 (66.4%) | |
| Complementary | 52 (13.0%) | 137 (34.3%) | 211 (52.8%) | |
| Secondary | 164 (16.1%) | 388 (38.2%) | 465 (45.7%) | |
| University | 736 (35.4%) | 857 (41.2%) | 485 (23.3%) | |
| Employment status | < 0.001 | |||
| Unemployed | 381 (19.0%) | 689 (34.3%) | 938 (46.7%) | |
| Full-time job | 325 (31.3%) | 461 (44.3%) | 254 (24.4%) | |
| Part-time job | 97 (22.5%) | 159 (36.9%) | 175 (40.6%) | |
| Retired | 6 (12.5%) | 17 (35.4%) | 25 (52.1%) | |
| Self-employed | 190 (40.1%) | 179 (37.8%) | 105 (22.2%) | |
| Currently working / studying from home | < 0.001 | |||
| No | 728 (23.6%) | 1123 (36.3%) | 1239 (40.1%) | |
| Yes | 271 (29.7%) | 382 (41.9%) | 258 (28.3%) | |
| Monthly salary income | < 0.001 | |||
| < 675,000 LBP | 59 (9.3%) | 188 (29.7%) | 386 (61.0%) | |
| 675,000-1,200,000 LBP | 122 (11.6%) | 373 (35.4%) | 559 (53.0%) | |
| 1,200,000-2,400,000 LBP | 106 (13.8%) | 336 (43.9%) | 324 (42.3%) | |
| 2,400,000-3,200,000 LBP | 113 (23.0%) | 249 (50.6%) | 130 (26.4%) | |
| 3,200,000-5,000,000 LBP | 231 (43.9%) | 213 (40.5%) | 82 (15.6%) | |
| > 5,000,000 LBP | 368 (69.4%) | 146 (27.5%) | 16 (3.0%) | |
| Overall health of your children | < 0.001 | |||
| Bad | 15 (8.1%) | 40 (21.5%) | 131 (70.4%) | |
| Acceptable | 137 (12.6%) | 354 (32.6%) | 596 (54.8%) | |
| Good | 302 (22.1%) | 569 (41.7%) | 495 (36.2%) | |
| Very good | 357 (36.5%) | 415 (42.4%) | 206 (21.1%) | |
| Excellent | 188 (49.0%) | 127 (33.1%) | 69 (18.0%) | |
| During the COVID-19 pandemic….. | ||||
| how has your child’s probability of skipping one of the main meals (breakfast/ lunch/dinner) changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 267 (20.6%) | 515 (39.8%) | 511 (39.5%) | |
| Remained the same | 475 (36.1%) | 509 (38.6%) | 333 (25.3%) | |
| Decreased | 257 (18.5%) | 481 (34.6%) | 653 (46.9%) | |
| how has your child’s habit of snacking between meals changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 491 (28.0%) | 700 (40.0%) | 560 (32.0%) | |
| Remained the same | 344 (33.0%) | 395 (37.8%) | 305 (29.2%) | |
| Decreased | 164 (13.6%) | 410 (34.0%) | 632 (52.4%) | |
| how has your child’s quantity/portions of meals and snacks changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 445 (27.7%) | 643 (40.0%) | 521 (32.4%) | |
| Remained the same | 382 (33.3%) | 461 (40.2%) | 303 (26.4%) | |
| Decreased | 172 (13.8%) | 401 (32.2%) | 673 (54.0%) | |
| how has your child’s daily intake of fruits and vegetables changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 324 (26.0%) | 500 (40.1%) | 423 (33.9%) | |
| Remained the same | 482 (36.1%) | 532 (39.8%) | 322 (24.1%) | |
| Decreased | 193 (13.6%) | 473 (33.4%) | 752 (53.0%) | |
| how has your child’s intake of a balanced diet (including health ingredients such as whole wheat, pulses, legumes, eggs, nuts, fruits and vegetables) changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 267 (24.1%) | 432 (39.0%) | 410 (37.0%) | |
| Remained the same | 524 (36.8%) | 578 (40.6%) | 322 (22.6%) | |
| Decreased | 208 (14.2%) | 495 (33.7%) | 765 (52.1%) | |
| how has your child’s consumption of junk food/fast food and fried food changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 271 (25.7%) | 419 (39.8%) | 363 (34.5%) | |
| Remained the same | 359 (35.3%) | 387 (38.1%) | 270 (26.6%) | |
| Decreased | 369 (19.1%) | 699 (36.2%) | 864 (44.7%) | |
| how has your child’s intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (carbonated soft drinks, sugar-sweetened juices) changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 263 (23.8%) | 444 (40.1%) | 399 (36.1%) | |
| Remained the same | 416 (36.2%) | 444 (38.6%) | 289 (25.2%) | |
| Decreased | 320 (18.3%) | 617 (35.3%) | 809 (46.3%) | |
| how has your child’s consumption of sweets/ candies/ chocolate changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 441 (29.1%) | 630 (41.6%) | 444 (29.3%) | |
| Remained the same | 350 (35.0%) | 379 (37.9%) | 272 (27.2%) | |
| Decreased | 208 (14.0%) | 496 (33.4%) | 781 (52.6%) | |
| how has your child’s consumption of unhealthy food when he/she is bored or stressed or upset changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 437 (27.0%) | 664 (41.0%) | 519 (32.0%) | |
| Remained the same | 346 (34.0%) | 402 (39.5%) | 269 (26.5%) | |
| Decreased | 216 (15.8%) | 439 (32.2%) | 709 (52.0%) | |
| how has your child’s intake of immunity-boosting foods (lemon, turmeric, garlic, citrus fruits and green leafy vegetables) in the diet changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 370 (26.4%) | 595 (42.4%) | 437 (31.2%) | |
| Remained the same | 451 (32.7%) | 536 (38.9%) | 392 (28.4%) | |
| Decreased | 178 (14.6%) | 374 (30.7%) | 668 (54.8%) | |
| how has your child’s intake of nutrition supplements to boost immunity changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 329 (25.9%) | 516 (40.6%) | 425 (33.5%) | |
| Remained the same | 481 (34.0%) | 565 (39.9%) | 369 (26.1%) | |
| Decreased | 189 (14.4%) | 424 (32.2%) | 703 (53.4%) | |
| how has your child’s support in eating healthy changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 378 (26.6%) | 586 (41.3%) | 455 (32.1%) | |
| Remained the same | 463 (32.9%) | 543 (38.6%) | 400 (28.4%) | |
| Decreased | 158 (13.4%) | 376 (32.0%) | 642 (54.6%) | |
| how has your child’s participation in physical activities changed? | 0.004 | |||
| Increased | 283 (26.3%) | 392 (36.4%) | 402 (37.3%) | |
| Remained the same | 290 (27.5%) | 412 (39.1%) | 352 (33.4%) | |
| Decreased | 426 (22.8%) | 701 (37.5%) | 743 (39.7%) | |
| how has your child’s participation in leisure and household chores changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 414 (26.2%) | 632 (40.0%) | 534 (33.8%) | |
| Remained the same | 393 (29.8%) | 497 (37.7%) | 428 (32.5%) | |
| Decreased | 192 (17.4%) | 376 (34.1%) | 535 (48.5%) | |
| how has your child’s sitting and screen time changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 693 (28.5%) | 964 (39.6%) | 775 (31.9%) | |
| Remained the same | 193 (24.2%) | 313 (39.2%) | 292 (36.6%) | |
| Decreased | 113 (14.7%) | 228 (29.6%) | 430 (55.8%) | |
| how have your child’s hours of sleep changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 376 (24.5%) | 611 (39.8%) | 548 (35.7%) | |
| Remained the same | 402 (27.6%) | 573 (39.3%) | 484 (33.2%) | |
| Decreased | 221 (21.9%) | 321 (31.9%) | 465 (46.2%) | |
| how has your child’s quality of sleep changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 317 (23.7%) | 520 (38.9%) | 501 (37.4%) | |
| Remained the same | 462 (28.5%) | 651 (40.2%) | 507 (31.3%) | |
| Decreased | 220 (21.1%) | 334 (32.0%) | 489 (46.9%) | |
| how have your child’s stress and anxiety level changed? | < 0.001 | |||
| Increased | 553 (25.7%) | 853 (39.6%) | 748 (34.7%) | |
| Remained the same | 313 (31.0%) | 388 (38.4%) | 310 (30.7%) | |
| Decreased | 133 (15.9%) | 264 (31.6%) | 439 (52.5%) | |
| Age of the parent | 36.84 ± 6.12 | 36.85 ± 6.80 | 36.61 ± 6.70 | 0.328 |
| Household crowding index | 1.12 ± 0.48 | 1.35 ± 0.58 | 1.74 ± 0.82 | < 0.001 |
| Total number of children | 2.44 ± 0.96 | 2.58 ± 1.08 | 2.94 ± 1.24 | < 0.001 |
| Number of children aged 5–10 years | 1.54 ± 0.67 | 1.58 ± 0.72 | 1.82 ± 0.90 | < 0.001 |
| Financial burden | 6.25 ± 2.63 | 8.08 ± 1.92 | 9.12 ± 1.61 | < 0.001 |
Numbers in bold indicate significant p-values