Affiliations: [a]
Human Ecology Laboratory, Department of Home Economics and Ecology, School of Environment, Geography and Applied Economics, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece
| [b]
Department of Nutrition and Dietetics, School of Health Science and Education, Harokopio University, Athens, Greece
Correspondence:
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Corresponding author: Vassiliki Costarelli, Department of Home Economics and Ecology, Harokopio University of Athens, 70, El. Venizelou Ave, Kallithea, Athens 17671, Greece. Tel.: +30 210 954 9368; Fax: +30 210 957 7050; E-mail: costarv@hua.gr.
Abstract: BACKGROUND:Food insecurity seems to be positively correlated with increased risk of malnutrition and poor health. OBJECTIVE:The purpose of the study was to develop and validate the Greek version of Adult Food Security Survey Module (AFSSM). METHODS:The AFSSM was translated to the Greek language forward and backward twice and subsequently was administered to 94 healthy adult individuals living in Greece. The participants had to complete the tool twice, within a period of 15 days. Fifty of the above participants also took part in a specifically designed structured interview, designed to assess food insecurity, for comparison purposes with the tested tool. Socioeconomic and anthropometric characteristics were also assessed. RESULTS:There was a significant positive correlation between the Greek AFSSM (AFSSM-Gr) and the results of the specifically designed structured interview, assessing food insecurity (r = 0.376, p < 0.01). The Cronbach’s alpha coefficient of reliability for the Greek AFSSM was good (α= 0.763). There was also a significant negative correlation between the age of the participants and the score of the AFSSM-Gr (r = –0.307, p < 0.01). CONCLUSIONS:The AFSSM-Gr can be considered as a useful tool for assessing Food Insecurity.
