Food Outlets in Montevideo: Implications for Retail Food Environment Research in the Majority World.

Abstract

Objective: To identify food outlets in Montevideo, Uruguay and to compare the types of outlets selling different food groups across areas of the city with different socioeconomic status (SES).

Design: Cross-sectional field survey of outlets selling foods and beverages conducted between September, 2023 and February, 2024.

Setting: A sample of 106 census tracts was obtained using probability proportional to size sampling.

Participants: All outlets selling foods and beverages within the census tracts.

Main outcome measure: Number, density, and distribution of food outlets selling different food groups.

Analysis: Kruskal-Wallis, Fisher exact test, and chi-square test of independence were used to compare outcome measures in census tracts with different SES.

Results: A total of 1,217 food outlets were identified. Small stores corresponded to a relevant share of the outlets selling unprocessed foods, whereas ultraprocessed products were ubiquitous. The proportion and density of food outlets selling fruits and vegetables and fresh meat were significantly higher (P < 0.05) in low SES tracts. The distribution of outlets selling different food groups significantly (P < 0.01) differed across tracts.

Conclusions and implications: Results highlight the importance of capturing the local food sources that shape the availability of healthy and unhealthy foods in the majority world.