Urban Retail Food Environments: Relative Availability and Prominence of Exhibition of Healthy vs. Unhealthy Foods at Supermarkets in Buenos Aires, Argentina

Urban Retail Food Environments: Relative Availability and Prominence of Exhibition of Healthy vs. Unhealthy Foods at Supermarkets in Buenos Aires, Argentina

There is growing evidence that the food environment can influence diets. The present study aimed to assess the relative availability and prominence of healthy foods (HF) versus unhealthy products (UP) in supermarkets in Buenos Aires, Argentina and to explore differences by retail characteristics and...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:International journal of environmental research and public health Vol. 18; no. 3; p. 944
Main Authors: Elorriaga, Natalia, Moyano, Daniela L, López, María V, Cavallo, Ana S, Gutierrez, Laura, Panaggio, Camila B, Irazola, Vilma
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Switzerland MDPI AG 22-01-2021
MDPI
Subjects:
Argentina
Availability
Beverages
Chain stores
Commerce
Expenditures
Food
Food availability
Food selection
Food Supply
Fruits
Grocery stores
Marketing
Neighborhoods
Nutrition
Obesity
Prominences
Public health
Residence Characteristics
Supermarkets
Vegetables
Visibility
Argentina
Latin America
supermarket
healthy food retail
INFORMAS
food availability
Buenos Aires
retail food environment
socio-economic factors
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Summary:There is growing evidence that the food environment can influence diets. The present study aimed to assess the relative availability and prominence of healthy foods (HF) versus unhealthy products (UP) in supermarkets in Buenos Aires, Argentina and to explore differences by retail characteristics and neighborhood income level. We conducted store audits in 32 randomly selected food retails. Food availability (presence/absence, ratio of cumulative linear shelf length for HF vs. UP) and prominence inside the store (location visibility) were measured based on the International Network for Food and Obesity/NCDs Research, Monitoring and Action Support (INFORMAS) protocol. On average, for every 1 m of shelf length for UP, there was about 25 cm of shelf length for HF (HF/UP ratio: 0.255, SD 0.130). UP were more frequently available in high-prominence store areas (31/32 retails) than HF (9/32 retails). Shelf length ratio differed across commercial chains ( = 0.0268), but not by store size or type. Retails in the lower-income neighborhoods had a lower HF/UP ratio than those in the higher-income neighborhoods ( = 0.0329). Availability of the selected HF was overcome largely by the UP, particularly in high prominence areas, and in neighborhoods with lower income level, which may pose an opportunity for public health interventions.
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ISSN:1660-4601
1661-7827
1660-4601
DOI:10.3390/ijerph18030944