IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/spr/ssefpa/v16y2024i3d10.1007_s12571-024-01450-3.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Social and ethnic-racial inequities in the occurrence of food deserts in a Brazilian state capital

Author

Listed:
  • Daniely Casagrande Borges

    (Postgraduate Program in Food, Nutrition and Health, Faculty of Medicine – Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS))

  • Júlio Celso Borello Vargas

    (Postgraduate Program in Urban Planning – Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS))

  • Olivia Souza Honório

    (Graduate Program in Health and Nutrition – Federal University of Ouro Preto (UFOP))

  • Larissa Loures Mendes

    (Postgraduate Program in Nutrition and Health and Postgraduate Program in Public Health – Federal University of Minas Gerais (UFMG))

  • Raquel Canuto

    (Postgraduate Program in Food, Nutrition and Health, Faculty of Medicine – Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul (UFRGS))

Abstract

This study described the occurrence of food deserts and its relationship with the socioeconomic characteristics of the area. This is an ecological study based on secondary data from the city of Porto Alegre, Brazil. Food deserts were defined based on the density of establishments that sell healthy foods. The socioeconomic variables analyzed were the Health Vulnerability Index (HVI), percentage of illiterate people, percentage of people with per capita income of up to half a minimum wage, and percentage of households made up of people who identify as Black, Brown or Indigenous. Statistical and spatial analyses were conducted using census tracts as units of analysis. Almost half of the census tracts were classified as food deserts (n = 1150/48.3%), with higher concentration in the peripheral areas of the city. Tracts with a high risk of health vulnerability (very high HVI), those with the highest percentage of black and indigenous peoples (Quartile 4), the highest percentage of illiterate people (Quartile 4), and the highest percentage of people living on less than $$^{1}/_{5}$$ 1 / 5 minimum wage (Quartile 4), were about twice as likely to be classified as a food desert. For all variables, a dose-response relationship was observed. The results show that in the city of Porto Alegre food deserts were associated with worse environmental and social conditions, and a greater presence of ethnic-racial minority groups. Social and ethnic-racial inequities might shape the city environment, making access to healthy foods more difficult for the most vulnerable populations, with possible repercussions on food consumption, food security and other health outcomes.

Suggested Citation

  • Daniely Casagrande Borges & Júlio Celso Borello Vargas & Olivia Souza Honório & Larissa Loures Mendes & Raquel Canuto, 2024. "Social and ethnic-racial inequities in the occurrence of food deserts in a Brazilian state capital," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(3), pages 595-606, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:ssefpa:v:16:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s12571-024-01450-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s12571-024-01450-3
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: http://link.springer.com/10.1007/s12571-024-01450-3
    File Function: Abstract
    Download Restriction: Access to the full text of the articles in this series is restricted.
    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1007/s12571-024-01450-3?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    As the access to this document is restricted, you may want to search for a different version of it.

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Gripper, Ashley B. & Nethery, Rachel & Cowger, Tori L. & White, Monica & Kawachi, Ichiro & Adamkiewicz, Gary, 2022. "Community solutions to food apartheid: A spatial analysis of community food-growing spaces and neighborhood demographics in Philadelphia," Social Science & Medicine, Elsevier, vol. 310(C).
    2. Dunn, Richard A. & Sharkey, Joseph R. & Horel, Scott, 2012. "The effect of fast-food availability on fast-food consumption and obesity among rural residents: An analysis by race/ethnicity," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 10(1), pages 1-13.
    3. Maria Alvim Leite & Maíra Macário Assis & Ariene Silva Carmo & Mário Círio Nogueira & Michele Pereira Netto & Larissa Loures Mendes, 2021. "Inequities in the urban food environment of a Brazilian city," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 13(3), pages 539-549, June.
    4. Chen, D. & Jaenicke, E.C. & Volpe, R.J., 2016. "Food environments and obesity: Household diet expenditure versus food deserts," American Journal of Public Health, American Public Health Association, vol. 106(5), pages 881-888.
    5. Blanca Salinas-Roca & Laura Rubió-Piqué & Elena Carrillo-Álvarez & Gemma Franco-Alcaine, 2022. "Impact of Health and Social Factors on the Cardiometabolic Risk in People with Food Insecurity: A Systematic Review," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(21), pages 1-10, November.
    6. Kristen Cooksey Stowers & Qianxia Jiang & Abiodun T. Atoloye & Sean Lucan & Kim Gans, 2020. "Racial Differences in Perceived Food Swamp and Food Desert Exposure and Disparities in Self-Reported Dietary Habits," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-14, September.
    7. Gemma Davies & Gina Frausin & Luke Parry, 2017. "Are There Food Deserts in Rainforest Cities?," Annals of the American Association of Geographers, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 107(4), pages 794-811, July.
    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. Kristen Cooksey Stowers & Qianxia Jiang & Abiodun T. Atoloye & Sean Lucan & Kim Gans, 2020. "Racial Differences in Perceived Food Swamp and Food Desert Exposure and Disparities in Self-Reported Dietary Habits," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 17(19), pages 1-14, September.
    2. Han, Jeehee & Schwartz, Amy Ellen & Elbel, Brian, 2020. "Does proximity to fast food cause childhood obesity? Evidence from public housing," Regional Science and Urban Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(C).
    3. Olivia Souza Honório & Paula Martins Horta & Milene Cristine Pessoa & Mariana Zogbi Jardim & Ariene Silva Carmo & Larissa Loures Mendes, 2022. "Food deserts and food swamps in a Brazilian metropolis: comparison of methods to evaluate the community food environment in Belo Horizonte," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 14(3), pages 695-707, June.
    4. Zasimova, Liudmila, 2022. "The association between fast-food consumption and job-related factors among Russian adults," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    5. Asirvatham, Jebaraj & Thomsen, Michael R. & Nayga, Rodolfo M. & Goudie, Anthony, 2019. "Do fast food restaurants surrounding schools affect childhood obesity?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 33(C), pages 124-133.
    6. Abrahamsson, Sara & Bütikofer, Aline & Karbownik, Krzysztof, 2023. "Swallow This: Childhood and Adolescent Exposure to Fast Food Restaurants, BMI, and Cognitive Ability," CEPR Discussion Papers 18213, C.E.P.R. Discussion Papers.
    7. Hruschka, Daniel J. & Brewis, Alexandra A., 2013. "Absolute wealth and world region strongly predict overweight among women (ages 18–49) in 360 populations across 36 developing countries," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 11(3), pages 337-344.
    8. Dolton, Peter J. & Tafesse, Wiktoria, 2022. "Childhood obesity, is fast food exposure a factor?," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 46(C).
    9. Berning, Joshua P., 2012. "Access to Local Agriculture and Weight Outcomes," Agricultural and Resource Economics Review, Cambridge University Press, vol. 41(1), pages 57-71, April.
    10. Fortin, Bernard & Yazbeck, Myra, 2015. "Peer effects, fast food consumption and adolescent weight gain," Journal of Health Economics, Elsevier, vol. 42(C), pages 125-138.
    11. Lucine Francis & Nancy Perrin & Frank C. Curriero & Maureen M. Black & Jerilyn K. Allen, 2022. "Food Desert Status of Family Child Care Homes: Relationship to Young Children’s Food Quality," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 19(11), pages 1-10, May.
    12. Dunn, Richard A. & Dean, Wesley R. & Johnson, Cassandra M. & Leidner, Andrew & Sharkey, Joseph R., 2012. "The Effect of Distance and Cost on Fruit and Vegetable Consumption in Rural Texas," Journal of Agricultural and Applied Economics, Cambridge University Press, vol. 44(4), pages 491-500, November.
    13. Luana Lara Rocha & Amélia Augusta Lima Friche & Gabriel Borges Vaz Melo & Nayhanne Gomes Cordeiro & Olivia Souza Honório & Letícia Oliveira Cardoso & Larissa Loures Mendes, 2024. "Food retail in favelas of a Brazilian metropolis," Food Security: The Science, Sociology and Economics of Food Production and Access to Food, Springer;The International Society for Plant Pathology, vol. 16(1), pages 277-292, February.
    14. Lilah M. Besser & Willa D. Brenowitz & Oanh L. Meyer & Serena Hoermann & John Renne, 2021. "Methods to Address Self-Selection and Reverse Causation in Studies of Neighborhood Environments and Brain Health," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(12), pages 1-19, June.
    15. Ver Ploeg, Michele & Wilde, Parke E., 2018. "How do food retail choices vary within and between food retail environments?," Food Policy, Elsevier, vol. 79(C), pages 300-308.
    16. Chen, Danhong & Jaenicke, Edward C., 2017. "Composition of Food-at-Home Expenditures and Childhood Obesity," 2017 Annual Meeting, July 30-August 1, Chicago, Illinois 258343, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    17. Davillas, Apostolos & Jones, Andrew M., 2020. "Regional inequalities in adiposity in England: distributional analysis of the contribution of individual-level characteristics and the small area obesogenic environment," Economics & Human Biology, Elsevier, vol. 38(C).
    18. Dong, Zefeng & Jaenicke, Edward C. & Kuhns, Annemarie, 2018. "The Effects of Exogenous Changes in Food Environment on Households’ Healthfulness of Food Purchases," 2018 Annual Meeting, August 5-7, Washington, D.C. 273910, Agricultural and Applied Economics Association.
    19. Chenyang Wang & Zhiping Zhen & Nan Zhao & Chenlin Zhao, 2021. "Associations between Fast-Food Restaurants Surrounding Kindergartens and Childhood Obesity: Evidence from China," IJERPH, MDPI, vol. 18(17), pages 1-15, September.
    20. Juan Tu & Feng Qiu & Meng Yang, 2022. "Investigation of Whether People Are Willing to Pay a Premium for Living in Food Swamps: A Study of Edmonton, Canada," Sustainability, MDPI, vol. 14(10), pages 1-17, May.

    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:spr:ssefpa:v:16:y:2024:i:3:d:10.1007_s12571-024-01450-3. 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: Sonal Shukla or Springer Nature Abstracting and Indexing (email available below). General contact details of provider: http://www.springer.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.