Introduction:

food diversity is an approximation of diet quality. In Mexico, the Food Support Program (PAL, by its acronym in Spanish) grants support to families facing food poverty, in form of cash (PAL EFECTIVO) or through monetary transfers on a card intended exclusively for the purchase of food (PAL SIN-HAMBRE), seeking to improve their food diversity.

Objective:

to compare the dietary diversity in women beneficiaries of both schemes and their association with the level of food insecurity (FI) at household level.

Methods:

a cross-sectional study was carried out in a national random sample of 243 women beneficiaries from PAL EFECTIVO and 277 from PAL SIN-HAMBRE in 14 states. A multinomial logistic regression model was constructed to measure the association between the FI perception index and its relationship with the PAL and the dietary diversity index.

Results:

the PAL SIN-HAMBRE scheme is associated with a lower probability of mild and severe FI with respect to the PAL EFECTIVO. The interaction between the type of scheme and the dietary diversity index showed that the PAL EFECTIVO had a lower probability of severe FI when the dietary diversity index was greater with respect to the PAL SIN-HAMBRE.

Conclusions:

the FI in the household and the low dietary diversity seem to be strongly associated in women of childbearing age and this relationship is higher in those beneficiaries of the PAL SIN-HAMBRE scheme.

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