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Do Iranian households benefit from food according to their health characteristics? A case study from Alborz Province, Iran

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Abstract

Aim

To ascertain that benefiting from a balanced and qualified diet is very important for ensuring human health and achieving the goals of the food security program, the present study was conducted by Tarbiat Modares University (Tehran, Iran) to investigate the food security situation of households in Alborz Province.

Subject and methods

The descriptive-correlational research involved was carried out using a scaling method. The statistical population of the study included all of the households in Alborz Province (N = 719,464), of which 354 were selected by a stratified random sampling method, with proportional assignment. The main research tool was a questionnaire whose validity was reviewed and modified by a panel of agricultural extension and education specialists from Tarbiat Modares and Tehran Universities. To determine the reliability of the research tool, 30 questionnaires were distributed among the statistical population and a Cronbach’s alpha coefficient equal to 0.7 was obtained.

Results

The results showed that there was a significant difference between the Alborz Province households, benefit at the 0.01 level of significance, and that most of the households in Savojbolagh City were completely food secure in contrast to Nazarabad, Karaj, and Taleghan cities.

Conclusion

Due to the low benefit of the households of Nazarabad, Karaj, and Taleghan, it is suggested that the government should solve the problem of physical access to food supplies for these households by creating different markets in the low-income areas of these cities.

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Availability of data and materials

The datasets generated and/or analyzed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Code availability

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Acknowledgments

We would like to thank all the participants of this research.

Funding

No funding was received to assist with the preparation of this manuscript.

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Authors and Affiliations

Authors

Contributions

Fatemeh Kian gathered and analyzed the primary data and wrote a draft of the manuscript. Shahla Choobchian analyzed the data and edited the manuscript. Homayoun Farhadian performed the study design and conception. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Homayoun Farhadian.

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Ethics approval and consent to participate

The study protocol was approved by the IRB of Tarbiat Modares University (Tehran, Iran). The reference number is not available. A written informed consent was obtained from the study participants.

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Conflict of interest

The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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Kian, F., Farhadian, H. & Choobchian, S. Do Iranian households benefit from food according to their health characteristics? A case study from Alborz Province, Iran. J Public Health (Berl.) 30, 1881–1887 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01631-w

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-021-01631-w

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