Food environment of the economic capital of the Northeast: social and territorial disparities in the availability of food stores

ABSTRACT Objective Characterize the community food environment through the different types of food outlets in the city of Fortaleza and associate their distribution according to sociodemographic indicators. Methods This is an ecological study carried out in the city of Fortaleza in which data from the Health Surveillance Service were used with the location of all licensed food stores in the city in the years 2018 and 2019. Georeferenced maps were set up to illustrate the spatial distribution of the establishments. Correlation analyses were performed to verify the association between food outlets and socioeconomic data. Values of p≤0.005 were considered significant. Results We identified a greater concentration of food stores in the neighborhoods with better socioeconomic levels. Snack bars (n=2051; 27.7%) and restaurants (n=1945; 26.3%), were in greater quantity and exhibited a positive correlation with the Human Development Index and average income. Supermarkets and hypermarkets (n=288; 3.9%) and street markets (n=81; 1.1%) were in a smaller number and had the worst spatial distribution. Conclusion We observed socioeconomic inequalities in the distribution of different types of food outlets. The little diversity and the limited number of establishments in peripheral neighborhoods, besides the centralization of outlets that sell food that is harmful to health, constitute obstacles for the population to make healthy food choices.