Objective: to analyze the occurrence of food insecurity and associated factors in Rio Grande, Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil, in 2016.
Methods: this was a cross-sectional population-based study using data obtained by interviewing heads of household; Poisson regression with robust variance adjustment was used.
Results: 675 households were included; food insecurity prevalence was 35.2% (95%CI31.6;39.0) and its occurrence was associated with heads of household being female (PR=1.49 - 95%CI1.17;1.90), not being white-skinned (PR=1.49 - 95%CI1.18;1.88), being younger, unmarried (PR=1.39 - 95%CI 1.07;1.81), belonging to the lowest education bracket (PR=1.58; 95%CI 1.17;2,12), belonging to the first and second assets index tertiles, having insufficient money to meet expenses (PR=2.22 - 95%CI 1.76;2.80), being obese (PR=1.39 - 95%CI 1.13;1.71), and being a smoker (PR=1.28 - 95%CI 1.05;1.56).
Conclusion: food insecurity was associated with all factors studied except alcohol abuse.