Retail food environment in a Brazilian metropolis over the course of a decade: evidence of restricted availability of healthy foods.

Abstract

To evaluate changes in the retail food environment profile in a Brazilian metropolis over a 10-year period. An ecological study was conducted in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. The addresses of formal food establishments were geocoded and classified according to their sold-food profile. Density changes were analysed according to neighbourhood, population size, income level and geospatial distribution. Totally, 468 neighbourhoods in the city of Belo Horizonte, Minas Gerais, Brazil. Totally, 83 752 formal food establishments registered for operation in any one or more of those years: 2008, 2011, 2015 and 2018. There was an increase in unhealthy establishments (154 %), followed by mixed (51 %) and healthy establishments (32 %), during the period evaluated, in addition to an increase in density according to income categories. There was a higher proportion of unhealthy establishments in relation to healthy establishments, indicating worsening of the community food environment over time. Over the course of 10 years, changes in the neighbourhood's food environment were unfavourable for adequate access to healthy foods in lower-income neighbourhoods. The findings reinforce the need for interventions aimed at increasing the availability of businesses that offer healthy food in the city.