Analyzing Food and Nutrition Security in Egypt using HIECS Data

Olivier EckerDevelopment Strategy and Governance Division

International Food Policy Research Institute

IFPRI TrainingCAPMAS, Cairo; Mar. 1, 2017

Outline1. Concepts and measurements of food and nutrition

security2. Theory of anthropometric measurements3. Calculation of anthropometric

indicators4. Estimating relationships

between socioeconomic variablesand nutritional status

5. Discussion: Options for improving HIECS for food and nutrition security analysis

6. Questions & answers

STATA exercises

Concepts and Measurements ofFood and Nutrition Security

“Food security exists when all people, at all times, have physical, social and economic access to sufficient, safe and nutritious food to meet their dietary needs and food preferences for an active and healthy life.” *

Four pillars: food availability, access, utilization, stability

Food Security

Source: * FAO (1996), Declaration of the World Food Summit; FAO (2009), Declaration of the World Summit of Food Security.

Poverty = “pronounced deprivation in well-being” Poverty includes “low incomes and the inability to acquire

the basic goods and services necessary for survival with dignity” (such as health and education, access to clean water and sanitation, inadequate physical security, lack of voice, and insufficient capacity and opportunity for a better life). *

The concept focuses on people’s (economic ) ability to achieve a standard minimum level of well-being, and therefore, poverty is primarily determined in terms of income.

Food insecurity is mostly caused by poverty but a phenomenon of its own and has different implications for development.

Poverty

Source: * World Bank (www.worldbank.org/poverty).

Malnutrition = chronic condition caused by under- or overconsumption of nutrients (primary MN) or adverse health conditions affecting nutrition (secondary MN). Macronutrients: Carbohydrates, protein, fat, providing

dietary energy (calories) Micronutrients: minerals and vitamins essential for

metabolism

Four forms of malnutrition: Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) Micronutrient malnutrition Secondary malnutrition Overnutrition

Malnutrition

Source: * Ecker (2009), Economics of Micronutrient Malnutrition.

Undernutrition … is an outcome of sever food insecurity.

Quantitative vs. Qualitative Assessment Quantitative assessments use numbers (usually

representative for a certain population) to measure different aspects of food security systematically (often relative to specific reference levels) and with a given level of error.

Qualitative assessments explore food preferences and attitudes, cultural factors related to food, or subjective perceptions about the type, quality, and sufficiency of the own food consumption and the nutritional outcomes.

Focus on quantitative assessments because of issues of data representativeness and comparability

Food Security and Nutrition Indicators1. Calorie and nutrient consumption

and deprivation indicators2. (Monetary) poverty indicators3. Dietary diversity indicators4. Subjective/experiential indicators special modules5. Anthropometric indicators body

compositionmeasurements

from food consumption records (e.g. HIECS)

Theory of Anthropometric Measurements

Common Anthropometric Indicators

Height-for-age („stunting“)

Weight -for-age („underweight“)

Weight -for-height („wasting“)

Mid-upper arm circumference → for all ages

Body mass index (BMI) → mostly for adults

Mostly for children under 5 years of age

Child Anthropometry Child anthropometrics measure the body dimension

(height/length, weight) of children under 5 years of age. Anthropometrics indicate the past and current exposure

to inadequate nutrition and health. Three measurements with different implications: Height-for-age identifies stunting. Weight -for-height identifies wasting. Weight -for-age identifies underweight.

Data available from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS; www.measuredhs.com) and some HBS (e.g., Egypt, Yemen)

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Measuring Child Height (Length)

Lying: < 2 years Standing: > 2 years

of age Record in survey!

Source: Cogill, (2003)

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Measuring Child Weight

Electronic scale Hanging scale

Source: Cogill, (2003)

Assessing Children’s Nutritional Status Comparison of a child’s anthropometrics against an

international reference population of healthy children of the same sex and age group

Standardization of measurements by age and sex:

z-scores:

x = raw score to be standardized, µ = median of the reference population, σ = distribution of the reference population

A child is defined as malnourished (stunted, underweight, wasted), if z < -2; and severely malnourished, if z < -3.

Prevalence = proportion of malnourished children

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Example: Height/Length for Age

Field tables(cm)

STATA Exercise 1:Calculation of Anthropometric Indicators

STATA Exercise 2:Estimating Relationships between Socio-

economic Variables and Nutritional Status

Discussion:Options for Improving HIECS for

Food and Nutrition Security Analysis

Improving Data Collection and Quality (1) Principle: Consider multiple purposes of data analysis Computer-assisted survey information collection Reduce sample size (by half) Survey based on full sample every 4-5 years and on sub-sample

each year ( “thin round”) Dynamic panel with constant number of households Account for seasonality Choose reasonable recall period Focus on standard variables and variables of major policy

relevance Include household size, identification of children’s mother, pregnancy and

lactation status

Improving Data Collection and Quality (2) Consider other, shorter format for food and non-food

consumption module (e.g. LSMS) Food consumption module: Ask always for food quantities (also for food outside home) Record quantity units as used (e.g., liter for oil) Ask always for specification in “other” categories

Include food security and anthropometrics module in all following HIECS rounds Ask for pregnancy and lactation status

Allow for ‘special focus’ module: e.g. migration Improve variable codes unique and systematic coding Improve data labeling Documentation: sample design, questionnaires, etc. Revise data sharing policy

Questions & Answers