A high rate of FI was found in homes with children under five years of age (36.7%), which was more than double the prevalence reported for homes with children under five years of age in Brazil as a whole [4]. Severe IAG affected 25.5% of the families interviewed, surpassing the prevalence reported for the North Region of the country (10.2%) and suggesting that a significant portion of the population under five years of age had suffered episodes of hunger in the 90 days prior to the interview. These results also surpass data from a recent Brazilian report, which points to the North Region as the most affected by hunger in the country [10]. In the same direction, the index of severe FI found in the present study exceeds the high prevalence identified in children from Ethiopia, a country that still lives with hunger and malnutrition in urban environments [18].
Among the characteristics analysed, low income, participation in governmental income transfer programs and schooling of the head of the household were associated with MSFI. These findings are compatible with data described by other authors [19].
An income below the monthly minimum wage (R$ 954) was the factor most associated with MSFI, implying difficulty in gaining access to food. The mean household income per capita in the municipality studied was R$ 347.20, with 62.4% of individuals earning less than R$ 140, which classifies these individuals as poor to extremely poor (IBGE 2010). This corresponds to half of the lowest mean per capita (R$ 605) recorded for Brazil in 2018, which was recorded in the state of Maranhão in the Northeast Region of the country [20]. Thus, the present results reaffirm findings in studies with a national scope, which state that a lower monthly household income is associated with a higher proportion of homes with FI, especially MSFI [19].
In the analysis of participation in governmental income transfer programs, which was also associated with MSFI, such programs are suggested to have achieved public priorities [21, 22]. Given the large portion of the interviewees in the present study who reported monetary transfers from the Programa Bolsa Família (Family Allowance Program) as the only source of income, FI would likely be greater without such programs.
Access to food is hindered by low income. Therefore, the association between MSFI and participation in programs such as the Programa Bolsa Família (Family Allowance Program) may be explained by the extreme poverty to which the heads of the households are submitted [23]. Although the trajectory of this program is related to a reduction in social inequalities in Brazil, structural disparities persist in the territories (regions, states, and municipalities). Income transfer alone is insufficient to interrupt poverty; in the sphere of public policies, it is also necessary to qualify services related to cross-compliance and expand intersectoral interventions targeting vulnerable populations [22, 24, 25].
Low levels of schooling, which was also associated with MSFI in the present study, makes it difficult to enter the formal job market, implying an increase in informal (“under-the-table”) work and low pay, constituting a marker of inequity that favours the perpetuation of FI [19]. Regarding claims that the Programa Bolsa Família (Family Allowance Program) rectifies late enrolment, school attendance, and truancy rates of children from poorer families, there is evidence that these children leave school prematurely [26]. It should be stressed that an increase in the schooling of the population is a basic requirement to break free of the generational cycle of poverty [27].
As an aggravating factor of MSFI, a frequent lack of water was found in the homes due to low coverage by the public water supply [7] and the discarding of domestic sewage in the open air, rivers, and creeks adjacent to the homes. Although not part of the final statistical model, these aspects aggregate elements for the analysis of the vulnerability of the population. Even though Brazil is recognized for its considerable freshwater supply, part of the population does not have sufficient access to this water, especially in the North and Northeast Regions of the country [28]. Moreover, insufficient basic sanitation in the municipality of Coari, due to the natural dynamics of the waters (ebb and flow), could contribute to the maintenance or increase in child mortality rates, as limited access to water, sanitation, and adequate hygiene are among the determinants [29].
Height deficit was not associated with MSFI. Nonetheless, the high prevalence encountered (23.7%) is approximately double the average for the North Region (14.7%) (MS 2009) [30], demonstrating a situation of chronic malnutrition. This result is similar to the prevalence described in one of the least developed municipalities of Brazil, which is also located in the Western Amazon Region (35.8%); the prevalence of a height deficit was associated with geographic isolation, social inequalities and difficulties in gaining access to services in the North Region [31]. Regional data reveal that a height deficit in the population is the consequence of prolonged exposure to hunger and nutritional deficiencies [32], as children in northern Brazil are less likely to have access to a diversified, healthy diet than children in other regions of the country [33]. Despite the reduction in chronic malnutrition at the national level, regional inequities persist, which contribute to the high rates of childhood growth deficits in the North Region [34].
Along with the persistent problem of childhood malnutrition in the municipality, a substantial portion of the children studied were overweight, surpassing the global prevalence estimated for children and adolescents reported by a study that found a growing trend of excess weight in developing countries (from 8.1–12.9% among males and from 8.4–13.4% among females). These rates are higher in developed countries (23.8% among males and 22.6% among females) [35]. Children from families with FI in developed countries also have a greater likelihood of poorer health since birth and a worse perception of their health on the part of their parents [36].
No association between MSFI and being overweight was found in the present study, which is similar to findings in an investigation involving data from the Brazilian Demographics and Health Survey [30, 37]. However, Tarasuk et al. [38] suggest that MSFI may be a conditioning factor for an increase in morbidity rates and hospitalizations. Likewise, Gomes et al. [39] found that nutritional risk among individuals with chronic morbidities was greater among those with MSFI. Moreover, excess weight in childhood is a risk factor for obesity and chronic noncommunicable diseases in adulthood [40].
The context of inequities in the families that participated in the present study was characterized by the low economic status and schooling of the heads of the households, massive participation in governmental income transfer programs, and inadequate housing and sanitation, painting a picture of intense social disparities.
MSFI and associated factors reveal the precariousness of economic development and public policies in areas distant from large metropolises. The geographic isolation of the region is a recurrent justification for the historical lack of public policies directed at this population. As a result, social exclusion deepens, which is evidenced in lower income strata and in people with lower levels of schooling being deprived of access to the job market and public services [41]. The intensification of these social disparities, mainly in territories historically marked by social inequalities, is among the impacts of the pandemic by the new COVID-19. Thus, it is suggested that moderate and severe FI are currently even higher than they were historically [42]. The state should play a central role in the fulfilment of basic rights that favour the social inclusion of the population and the consequent overcoming of socioeconomic inequalities and FI. Likewise, social control agencies should perform a role in monitoring this process. However, Brazil is currently passing through a period marked by austerity policies, which weaken existing social protection policies [43]. It is, therefore, necessary to place FI and the human right to adequate, healthy food on the agenda of different governmental courts of Brazil for the enforcement of public policies for combating hunger and poverty [22].
A limitation of the present study was the impossibility of including rural areas in the survey due to budgetary and logistic deficiencies. Otherwise, the research's innovativeness resides in the fact that it is an unprecedented population-based inquiry addressing a remote municipality in the western portion of the Brazilian Amazon region that is not covered in national surveys. Therefore, the present investigation fills a gap in knowledge on this issue regarding municipalities in the countryside of northern Brazil.