Food environment of bus terminals in the Rio de Janeiro metropolitan region

PURPOSE

To describe and analyze the healthiness of formal and informal food establishments in bus terminals of the metropolitan region of the state of Rio de Janeiro.

METHOD

An audit was conducted in 156 formal and 127 informal food establishments located in 14 bus terminals of the five most populous cities of the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro. Proportions of types of establishments and means (95%CI) of food availability indicators in formal and informal settings were calculated. For the formal setting, prices, proportions of accepted payment methods, days and hours of operation, and food categories with displayed advertising were described.

RESULTS

The healthiness of food establishments in bus terminals was low (less than 36%). On average, ultra-processed food subgroups were 250% more available for purchase than fresh or minimally processed food. Purchasing food at these places was convenient because several forms of payment were available, and the opening hours of the establishments followed the peaks of movement. In addition, 73.3% of the advertising referred to ultra-processed drinks, and the cost-benefit of buying ultra-processed food was better than fresh or minimally processed food.

CONCLUSION

The food environment of bus terminals in the metropolitan region of Rio de Janeiro promotes unhealthy eating. Regulatory public policies should focus on initiatives to limit the wide availability and advertising of ultra-processed food in spaces of great circulation of people.

Ecological study of the association between socioeconomic inequality and food deserts and swamps around schools in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil

BACKGROUND

Previous research suggests that unhealthy community food environments around schools contribute to unhealthy eating habits and negative health outcomes among the youth. However, little is known about how socioeconomic inequalities in those community food environments are associated with food deserts and food swamps across schools' neighborhoods.

METHODS

An ecological study was carried out in all 3,159 public and private schools in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Three measures of socioeconomic inequality were evaluated: per capita income, segregation index and deprivation index. The community school food environment was analyzed by metrics of food swamps and food deserts.

RESULTS

Food deserts and food swamps were simultaneously more prevalent in neighborhoods of the lowest income, high deprivation, and high segregation. Spatial socioeconomic disparities at the neighborhoods of schools were associated with food deserts and food swamps in Rio de Janeiro.

CONCLUSIONS

Our results point to a spatial socioeconomic inequality of establishments that sell food around schools in a Brazilian metropolis, indicating that the areas of greatest deprivation of food services are also the areas with the worst socioeconomic characteristics.