IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/gam/jijerp/v22y2025i9p1331-d1733206.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

What Is There to Buy? An Analysis of the Food Environment in Public and Private Schools in the Federal District

Author

Listed:
  • Giovanna Soutinho Araújo

    (Postgraduate Program in Human Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition—NESNUT, University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília 70910-900, DF, Brazil
    Department of Biological and Health Sciences, Universidade do Distrito Federal Professor Jorge Amaury Maia Nunes (UnDF), Brasília 71503-502, DF, Brazil)

  • Vivian S. S. Gonçalves

    (Graduate Program in Public Health, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília 70910-900, DF, Brazil)

  • Ariene Silva do Carmo

    (Postgraduate Program in Human Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition—NESNUT, University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília 70910-900, DF, Brazil)

  • Maurício T. L. de Vasconcellos

    (Sociedade para o Desenvolvimento da Pesquisa Científica—SCIENCE, Rio de Janeiro 20231-050, RJ, Brazil)

  • Natacha Toral

    (Postgraduate Program in Human Nutrition, Faculty of Health Sciences, Center for Epidemiological Studies in Health and Nutrition—NESNUT, University of Brasília (UnB), Brasília 70910-900, DF, Brazil)

Abstract

This descriptive ecological study evaluated the food environment of 18 public and private schools in the Federal District (DF), Brazil, by analyzing food availability within schools and in their surroundings (250 m, 400 m, and 800 m buffers). Food retail outlets (FROs) were georeferenced and classified according to the NOVA food classification. School principals were interviewed to assess the in-school food environment. Analyses considered the Social Vulnerability Index (SVI; low or medium/high) and school type. Among 911 FROs identified, 40.2% predominantly sold ultra-processed products. Most schools (83.3% within a 250 m radius) had at least one nearby FRO. Private schools—mostly in low-SVI areas—had higher densities of surrounding FROs at all buffer distances, with significance for total density at 400 m ( p = 0.03) and for unhealthy outlets at 800 m ( p < 0.01). Low-SVI areas had higher densities of both healthy ( p = 0.01) and unhealthy ( p < 0.01) outlets, with differences across multiple buffers. In canteens, sugar-sweetened beverages were the most common ultra-processed items (75%). The median ratio of ultra-processed to minimally processed food subgroups was 2.7 (0.5–6.0), and all private schools with a canteen sold at least one item prohibited by current regulations. Overall, the DF school food environment was characterized by a predominance of unhealthy foods, with disparities by school type and social vulnerability.

Suggested Citation

  • Giovanna Soutinho Araújo & Vivian S. S. Gonçalves & Ariene Silva do Carmo & Maurício T. L. de Vasconcellos & Natacha Toral, 2025. "What Is There to Buy? An Analysis of the Food Environment in Public and Private Schools in the Federal District," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 22(9), pages 1-19, August.
    • Handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:9:p:1331-:d:1733206
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/9/1331/pdf
    Download Restriction: no
    File URL: https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/22/9/1331/
    Download Restriction: no
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Brian Elbel & Kosuke Tamura & Zachary T McDermott & Dustin T Duncan & Jessica K Athens & Erilia Wu & Tod Mijanovich & Amy Ellen Schwartz, 2019. "Disparities in food access around homes and schools for New York City children," PLOS ONE, Public Library of Science, vol. 14(6), pages 1-17, June.
    2. Siobhan O’Halloran & Gabriel Eksteen & Mekdes Gebremariam & Laura Alston, 2020. "Measurement Methods Used to Assess the School Food Environment: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(5), pages 1-23, March.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Audrey Elford & Cherice Gwee & Maliney Veal & Rati Jani & Ros Sambell & Shabnam Kashef & Penelope Love, 2022. "Identification and Evaluation of Tools Utilised for Measuring Food Provision in Childcare Centres and Primary Schools: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(7), pages 1-37, March.
    2. repec:ags:aaea22:335818 is not listed on IDEAS
    3. Dorceta E. Taylor & Katherine Allison & Tevin Hamilton & Ashley Bell, 2023. "Race, Socioeconomic Status, and Food Access in Two Predominantly White Cities: The Case of Lansing, East Lansing, and Surrounding Townships in Michigan," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 15(20), pages 1-49, October.
    4. Joy Mauti & Isabel Mank & Jan-Walter De Neve & Guillaume Alfred Gyengani & Paul-André Somé & Sachin Shinde & Wafaie Fawzi & Till Bärnighausen & Alain Vandormael, 2021. "The Food and Health Environment in Junior Secondary Schools in Urban Burkina Faso: A Cross-Sectional Study of Administrators, Food Vendors and Early Adolescents," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(23), pages 1-16, December.
    5. Lee, Eun Kyung & Donley, Gwendolyn & Ciesielski, Timothy H. & Gill, India & Yamoah, Owusua & Roche, Abigail & Martinez, Roberto & Freedman, Darcy A., 2022. "Health outcomes in redlined versus non-redlined neighborhoods: A systematic review and meta-analysis," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 294(C).

    More about this item

    Keywords

    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;
    ;

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:22:y:2025:i:9:p:1331-:d:1733206. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: MDPI Indexing Manager (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://www.mdpi.com .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.