Food environment, income and obesity: a multilevel analysis of a reality of women in Southern Brazil

Abstract

The objective of this study was to explore relationships between the neighborhood food environment and obesity in urban women living in São Leopoldo, Rio Grande do Sul State, Brazil. A cross-sectional survey was carried out. This study was conducted with 1,096 women. Structured interviews were conducted using a standard pre-tested questionnaire. Obesity was defined as body mass index (BMI) ≥ 30kg/m2. Circular buffers of 400m in radius were created based on the centroid of the women’s houses who participated, in the 45 census tracts inhabited by them. Neighborhood food establishments were identified through systematic survey of all streets in the study areas and geographical coordinates of shops were collected. Establishments were evaluated using the NEMS tool. The prevalence of obesity was 33% among the women participants. After adjusting for individual variables, supermarkets and healthy food establishments were positively associated with obesity, PR = 1.05 (95%CI: 1.01-1.10), PR = 1.02 (95%CI: 1.00-1.04), respectively, while mean buffer income was negatively associated, PR = 0.64 (95%CI: 0.49-0.83). Neighborhood food environment factors were associated with obesity even after controlled for individual variables, as socioeconomic variables, behavioral and food purchase.

The influence of the urban food environment on diet, nutrition and health outcomes in low-income and middle-income countries: a systematic review

“…47 Two further fair quality studies reported associations between availability and dietary outcomes although without presenting whether this was statistically significant. 48 49 Further, 10 good studies found a significant association between an availability characteristic and a health outcome [50][51][52][53][54][55][56][57][58][59] as did 2 fair studies 60 61 and 1 further poor study. 62 Additionally, one poor study reported that prevalence of overweight and mean body mass index (BMI) trended in the same direction as the number of 'westernstyle' restaurants and convenience stores, however, no statistics were presented.…”

Acting against obesity: a cross-cultural analysis of prevention models in Spain, Argentina and Brazil

“…Some very recent initiatives can be taken as examples in this direction. Such is the case with the studies carried out in Brazil on the food environment from the point of view of access to healthy and sustainable food, which are mapping places and relating them to income levels in order to influence public policy (Backes et al, 2019;Camargo et al, 2019), or the research currently being carried out in Argentina with Health Ministry funding on obesogenic environments in socially vulnerable…”

Acting against obesity: a cross-cultural analysis of prevention models in Spain, Argentina and Brazil

“…Some very recent initiatives can be taken as examples in this direction. Such is the case with the studies carried out in Brazil on the food environment from the point of view of access to healthy and sustainable food, which are mapping places and relating them to income levels in order to influence public policy (Backes et al, 2019;Camargo et al, 2019), or the research currently being carried out in Argentina with Health Ministry funding on obesogenic environments in socially vulnerable situations (CISPAN, FIC and PN, 2019). We will have to wait and see which measures are implemented once these determinants are identified and what the results are.…”