Association of household food insecurity with individual dietary diversity and nutrient adequacy of 7–9-year-old children and their mothers in an urban slum of Mumbai

BACKGROUND Food insecurity (FI) is a pervasive global issue that disproportionately affects women and children living in socioeconomically disadvantaged communities. Our study explored the association of household FI with indicators of dietary diversity, nutrient adequacy, and perceived stress in a sample of 7–9-year-old children and their mothers residing in an urban slum of Mumbai, India. METHODS This cross-sectional study was conducted in children (n = 80, mean age 8.1 (0.9) years, 52.3% boys) and their mothers (n = 80, mean age 27.2 (4.5) years, 52.5% illiterate) to assess Household food insecurity (Household Food Insecurity Access Scale), diversity of children’s (Individual Diet Diversity Score (IDDS) > 3) and mothers’ (Minimum Diet Diversity-Women (MDDW) > 5) diets and severity of stress symptoms (Perceived Stress Scale > 13). The Nutrient Adequacy Ratio (NAR) of energy, protein, and micronutrients and the Mean Adequacy Ratio (MAR) were calculated using two non-consecutive day 24-hour diet recall data for child-mother dyads. Relationships between household FI, dietary diversity, and nutrient adequacy of the child-mother dyads were investigated using Pearson’s correlation. Multiple linear regression analyses explored the sociodemographic and maternal factors of children’s MAR values. RESULTS The household FI was reported as severe (46.1%), moderate (18.5%), and mild (14.1%). Inadequate dietary diversity was observed among 80% of children and 92.5% of their mothers. Seventy percent of mothers had moderate stress (PSS > 13). The mean NAR for energy (54.8 (9.2) %), folates (11.5 (6.7) %), vitamin A (12.4 (7.1) %), and iron (29.8 (15.3) %) of children’s diets were alarming. Family size (β = − 1.23, SE = 0.58, 95% CI: − 2.36 to − 0.10, p  = 0.033), and maternal education (β = 7.60, SE = 2.14, 95% CI: 3.20 to 12.00, p  < 0.001), dietary diversity (β = 3.78, SE = 0.82, 95% CI: 2.35 to 4.91, p  = 0.021), and MAR (β = 2.27, SE = 0.11, 95% CI: 2.05 to 2.69, p  = 0.017) were associated with children’s MAR values. CONCLUSION The findings reveal the compounded vulnerabilities of food insecurity, poor dietary diversity, inadequate nutrient intake, and maternal stress in low-income families. Socioeconomic and maternal factors emerged as key predictors of children’s dietary patterns, emphasizing the need for household-level, rather than individual-focused, nutrition interventions in food-insecure settings.