Abstract
To examine differences in the availability, variety and distribution of foods and beverages sold at street food stands (SFS) across neighbourhood income levels in Mexico City. Cross-sectional. Twenty neighbourhoods representing low-, middle- and high-income levels in Mexico City. Direct observations of SFS (n 391). The availability of healthy foods such as fruits/vegetables was high in middle- and high-income neighbourhoods, whereas the availability of unhealthy foods such as processed snacks was higher in low-income neighbourhoods. However, statistically significant differences in food availability across neighbourhoods were only observed for dairy and processed snack items (P < 0·05). Similarly, differences in variety were only observed for cereal and processed snacks (P < 0·05). No statistically significant differences were seen for variety of fruits/vegetable across neighbourhood income levels (P > 0·05). No statistically significant differences across neighbourhood income levels were observed for beverage availability and variety (P > 0·05). Although street foods and beverages were often distributed near homes, public transportation centres and worksites, no differences were observed across neighbourhood income levels (P > 0·05). Findings suggest that SFS can be a source of both unhealthy foods and healthy foods for communities across neighbourhoods in Mexico City. Additional studies are needed to assess the relationship between street food and beverage availability, and consumption.
Highlights
By documenting the types of ready-to-eat food and beverage items sold at street food stands (SFS), our study explores whether SFS are a source of healthy or unhealthy food items in a Mexican city
Given that many street food vendors do not register their business with the local government, it was not possible to use a business directory to draw a random sample of SFS
Middle-income neighbourhoods had the highest number of SFS (41·9 %), followed by high-income (31·2 %) and low-income (26·9 %) neighbourhoods
Summary
Selection of street food stands A sample of SFS in Mexico City was selected for assessment. Given that many street food vendors do not register their business with the local government, it was not possible to use a business directory to draw a random sample of SFS. To identify street segments for the assessment, we selected a random sample of census tracts representing five different marginalisation levels throughout Mexico City: very high marginalisation (i.e. very low-income), high (i.e. low-income), middle (i.e. middle-income), low (i.e. high-income) and very low (i.e. very high-income). The Mexican government defines marginalisation levels using three domains: education, living arrangements and income. The living arrangement domain is a composite of the number of households in an area with dirt floors and that lack running water, sewer systems and electricity and by the average number of people per room. Income is defined by the number of individuals in an area who are employed in formal business[47]
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