Last updated on 28-6-2024 by Thérésa Lebacq
Why study food security?
- A nutritious and balanced diet is one of our basic needs.
- The inability to access and afford a variety of nutritious food results in food insecurity.
- Food insecurity has a negative effect on overall health and well-being. Individuals in a food-insecure household are more prone to non-communicable diseases and other adverse health outcomes.
- Looking into the status of food insecurity in the country is crucial in identifying the vulnerable sector in the population and in gaining an understanding of possible measures to lessen its burden in society.
How do we do it?
- The statements used to assess food security were adapted from the U.S. Adult Food Security Survey Module. These statements refer to the past 12 months.
- The statements used with parents of children and adults aged 18 and over are as follows:
- (1) I worried whether my food would run out before I got money to buy more.
- (2) the food that I bought just didn’t last, and I didn’t have money to get more.
- (3) I couldn’t afford to eat balanced meals.
- For each of these statements, participants were asked to respond: ‘often true’, ‘sometimes true’, ‘never true’, or ‘don’t know or refuse to answer’.
- The questions used with adolescents are slightly different:
- (1) Have you worried about running out of food in the house before your family had money to buy more?
- (2) Did you finish the food your family bought and didn’t have enough money to buy more?
- (3) Did you not eat a healthy meal because your family didn’t have enough money
- For each of these questions, participants were asked to respond: ‘often true’, ‘sometimes true’, ‘never true’, or ‘don’t know or refuse to answer’.
- The categories ‘often true’ and ‘sometimes true’ were merged to create a binary response variable that served as a food insecurity indicator.
- These statements were assessed among adolescents, adults, and parents of 3 to 9 years old children.
Key results
Individuals with low education levels suffered the most from food insecurity compared to those with higher education levels.
Of the population with low education, 19% are unable to afford a healthy and balanced diet.
Nearly two in ten individuals in Brussels and Wallonia feared that food would run out before there was enough money to buy more.
One in five parents of 3 to 9 year old children are unable to afford to eat a healthy diet, this is the highest proportion of all studied groups.
Food security
Proportion of adolescents and adults aged 10 years and older that indicate food insecurity, by education level, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The education level is calculated at the household level by considering the highest diploma obtained by: (i) the respondent or their partner for adults (aged 18 years and above), or (ii) the father and mother (or carer, if applicable) for children and adolescents (aged 3 to 17 years). However, for simplicity, we refer to the education level of individuals rather than the education level of their households.
- Individuals with low education levels suffer the most from food insecurity compared to those with higher education levels.
- The proportion of individuals with a low education level (18%) who worried that food will run out before there is money to buy more is around four times higher than those with a high education level (4%).
- Eleven percent of individuals with low education levels have indicated that the food they bought did not last and they did not have money to buy more. This is higher than the 6% with a middle education and 2% with a high education.
- Individuals with a low education level represent the highest proportion (19%) of the population unable to afford a healthy and balanced diet with an estimate that is thrice higher than high education level (6%).
Proportion of adolescents and adults aged 10 years and older that indicate food insecurity, by region, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- The proportion of individuals who experience food insecurity in Flanders is significantly lower than that in Brussels and Wallonia.
- Nearly two in ten individuals in Brussels and Wallonia feared that food would run out before there is money to buy more.
- Around 16% of the individuals who are residing in Brussels report that the food they bought did not last and they did not have money to buy more. Furthermore, 13% of individuals from Wallonia struggle with the same situation. The estimates from these provinces are four to five times higher than those in Flanders.
- Two in ten individuals in Brussels cannot afford a healthy and balanced diet. The same difficulty is faced by 18% of the population of Wallonia.
Proportion of the Belgian population aged 10 years and older who worried that food would run out before there is money to buy more, by age and sex, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- There is a high proportion of parents of 3 to 9 year old children who fear that food will run out before they get money to buy more.
- Older adult women (65 years and above) are more likely than men to report fear that food would run out before they get money to buy more.
Proportion of the Belgian population aged 10 years and above who indicate that the food they bought did not last and they did not have money to buy more, by age and sex, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- Parents of 3 to 9 year old children represent the highest proportion of individuals who indicate that the food they bought did not last and they did not have money to buy more.
- The category of men aged 65 and above has the lowest proportion of individuals who indicate that the food they bought did not last and they did not have money to buy more.
Proportion of the Belgian population aged 10 years and older who are unable to afford a healthy and balanced diet, by age and sex, Belgium, 2022-2023
- Crude = results weighted for season, age, sex, and socioeconomic status.
- Parents of 3 to 9 year old children represent a high proportion of individuals who are unable to afford a healthy and balanced diet.
- The inability to afford a healthy and balanced diet is less prevalent among adolescents.
Please cite as: Please cite this page as: Sciensano. Determinants of food choice: Food security, Food Consumption Survey 2022-2023, June 2024, Brussels, Belgium, https://www.sciensano.be/en/results-food-consumption-survey-2022-2023/determinants-food-choice/food-security/