Children’s dietary habit in food insecure area Madura island Indonesia

Objectives: Food insecurity and malnutrition are still a public health issue, particularly in developing countries. Household food security is a determinant factor of dietary quantity and quality. This study aims to analyse the correlation between household food security and children’s dietary habit in food-insecure areas. Methods: This cross-sectional study was conducted in Bangkalan District, Madura Island, Indonesia and included 89 households with children under five. The Food Insecurity Ex- perience Scale (FIES) was administered to assess household food security status. The chil- dren’s dietary habit was assessed using the Food Frequency Questionnaire (FFQ). Spear- man’s rank correlation was applied to analyse the correlation between children’s dietary habits and household food security status in Madura Island, Indonesia. Results: A high proportion of food-insecure households (71.9%) was found in this study. Children under five have low consumption of vegetables and fruits. There was no signifi- cant correlation between household food security status with children’s dietary habits of staple food, and protein sources of food. There was a significant correlation between house- hold food security status with children’s dietary habits of vegetables and fruits. Conclusion: Parents can provide food sources of carbohydrates and protein regardless of their household food security status. Nonetheless, parents need to encourage the consump- tion of vegetables and fruits for their children. Food insecure households can provide veg- etables and fruits that were highly available and accessible such as water spinach, banana, and orange.