June 2021
GAZETTE
IN THE SUPERMARKETS OF THE CITY OF BUENOS AIRES, UNHEALTHY FOODS OCCUPY 4 TIMES MORE SPACE ON THE GONDOLAS THAN HEALTHY FOODS
THE DATA ARISES FROM A SURVEY OF RESEARCHERS FROM THE INSTITUTE OF CLINICAL AND HEALTH EFFECTIVENESS (IECS) CARRIED OUT IN 32 ESTABLISHMENTS IN ALL THE COMMUNES OF THE CITY OF BUENOS AIRES.
According to an investigation carried out by the Institute of Clinical and Health Effectiveness (IECS), an academic institution affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA), in supermarkets carryingus, Unhealthy foods take up 4 times more space than healthy foods. And the proportion of healthy foods was lower in those places with greater visibility, such as the proximity of the checkouts..
- All foods surveyed that were within a group called “unhealthy” (made up of sweet cookies, sweets, salty snacks such as potato chips or corn products, sugary drinks) They were available in all supermarkets, with a high presence in the most visible places. However, the presence of products belonging to the “healthy” group (fruits and vegetables, whole grains without added sugar, dried legumes, nuts without added salt and water) was lower and varied depending on the product.
The information comes from a survey carried out in 32 establishments in the city's 15 communes, within the framework of a broader work that seeks to analyze the impact of different factors that operate as barriers to healthy eating. The material is of vital importance in a context in which a food measure such as the front food labeling. Within the results obtained by the study, the specialists highlight that differences were found between the different areas of the city. The presence of unhealthy foods was lower in lower-income communities.
“Our food choices directly influence our health, but they can also influence the ecosystem and food system that produces the food we consume. Likewise, our food choices can be influenced by what the food system produces and promotes. To buy healthy foods, it is necessary that they be available at points of sale at a price we can afford.", explains Dr. Natalia Elorriaga, nutritionist, master in Clinical Effectiveness, IECS researcher and of CONICET and doctor from the Faculty of Medicine of the UBA.
The specialist adds"If in these points of sale there is also a greater supply of unhealthy foods, which are located in highly visible spaces or within reach of children, with promotions and discounts, our decisions may be influenced by the environment. When the environment, through different mechanisms, can influence by promoting and facilitating the purchase of unhealthy foods and beverages or excess empty calories, we call it an unhealthy food environment or “obesogenic” environment.
HOW DOES THE STUDY WAS REALIZED
Dr. Elorriaga and a group of colleagues* classified the products available for purchase in healthy and unhealthy foods and drinks based on the Dietary Guides for the Argentine Population and selected a reduced group of foods in each category, following the guidelines of an international protocol.
- It was considered “healthy” those recommended preferably to consume daily; fresh foods or foods with a low degree of processing. Within this group, the following foods and drinks were selected: fruits and vegetables -both fresh and frozen-, whole grains without added sugar, dried legumes, nuts without added salt and water.
- Los "Not healthy" They include foods that the guidelines recommend limiting or consider “optional consumption” and should only provide a minority proportion of daily calories. Within this group, the following products were selected: sweet cookies, candies, salty snacks (like chips, corn sticks, etc.) and sugary drinks (including sodas, flavored waters and artificial juices), all of them ultra-processed.
In the study, which was based on an international protocol developed by the International Network for Research, Monitoring and Action Support for Nutrition, Obesity and Noncommunicable Diseases (INFORMAS) with the corresponding adaptations, the Researchers measured the linear meters of shelves that Buenos Aires supermarkets (both the so-called “Chinese” and chain ones) allocated to a group of healthy foods and another group of unhealthy products and then calculated the proportion occupied by those “healthy” ones.. The average result was disappointing: the space of unhealthy foods evaluated was four times larger than that occupied by foods belonging to the healthy group. The relationship was more unfavorable in the communities with the lowest income level of the city.
Furthermore, when the researchers analyzed the arrangement of the products according to the different internal locations of the establishments, they found that the proportion of “healthy” ones decreases as visibility on the shelves increases.
In other words: on shelves at the back of supermarkets, for example, there may be a comparable amount of space allocated to healthy and unhealthy foods. But, near the checkouts or at the heads of the shelves facing the checkouts, which are spaces that most encourage purchasing, the healthiest ones may represent just 1% of the total. In fact, in 97% of the stores surveyed there was at least one unhealthy food in the checkout area, while only in 28% of the stores there was at least one healthy food.
It is worth mentioning that among the interventions that can be implemented to reverse the current panorama from the private sector, in Argentina regulations were recently approved in three provinces. These are initiatives that limit the availability of certain unhealthy ultra-processed products in and near the checkouts of stores in the provinces of Neuquén (Law 3224/2019), Río Negro (Law 5383/2019) and La Pampa (Law 3248/2020). XNUMX). Other similar bills have also been developed in other provinces, including the Autonomous City of Buenos Aires.
Another intervention expected in our country, which will undoubtedly influence the food environment in food sales outlets, is the front labeling of food, a tool that will allow healthy choices to be promoted through clear information.
PROMOTIONS IN BROCHURES
Within the framework of this project, the researchers also analyzed 4418 foods and drinks promoted in brochures distributed by seven supermarket chains in the City of Buenos Aires with their offers and compared them with the recommendations of the Food Guides for the Argentine Population (GAPA). . These guidelines recommend basing your diet on daily consumption of five recommended food groups (1. Fruits and vegetables, 2. Legumes, cereals, potatoes, bread and potatoes, 3. Milk, yogurt and cheeses, 4. Meats and eggs, 5. Oils, Dried fruits and Seeds), In addition, they recommend use water as a drink y limit consumption of the optional food group (including, but not limited to, foods and drinks with excess sugars, unhealthy fats and/or sodium). The guides also advise trying to prepare homemade meals, incorporating fresh, regional and preferably seasonal foods.
Regarding the brochures, the results were not very different from what was found on the shelves. More than half of the foods promoted in the supermarket brochures evaluated in the City of Buenos Aires belonged to the group of “optional foods” and the group of “alcoholic beverages.” Less than 40% were promotions of the five groups recommended in the food and water guides.
“It is important that healthy products are accessible and promoted, this creates an environment that makes it easier to choose healthy foods. According to our study, in addition to availability and location within the store, promotions of unhealthy foods are more frequent than those of recommended foods. This study suggests that some spaces where we buy food and drinks can be improved in this sense and it is possible to explore interventions in these stores that can promote a healthier diet,” says Elorriaga. In this sense, he stressed that "healthy food environments" are those that promote and facilitate healthy eating, based on the dietary guides of each country, in which the foods recommended therein are widely available and promoted, at an affordable cost. ”.
“The current problem of overweight and obesity in the child and adult population of our country is alarming and to be addressed requires a multidimensional approach.", adds the Dr. Vilma Irazola, director of the Chronic Diseases Research Department of the IECS. “The food environment, what surrounds us, can influence food choices and in this sense it can facilitate or create barriers to the adoption of healthy habits. In search of solutions, as we already know, it is important to take into account the environment at home, in the community, at school, and also the points of sale of food and beverages and their promotions," concludes Irazola.
The Inter-American Heart Foundation (FIC) and the Center for Society and Health Studies also participate in the work of the IECS, which is part of a broader project titled: “Food prices, affordability and accessibility: Argentine collaborative study.” State (CEDES). It was financed by the International Development Research Center (IDRC) of Canada (a state organization of that country)
*The research group was made up of: Dr. Natalia Elorriaga, Mg. Daniela Moyano, Lic. Ana Cavallo, Lic. Laura Gutierrez, Lic. María Victoria Lopez, Lic. Camila Panaggio, Maimouna Faye, Verónica Torres and Dr. Vilma Irazola.
ABOUT IECS: The IECS is an independent, non-profit academic institution dedicated to research, education and technical cooperation in health. Founded in 2002, it is an institution affiliated with the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) that houses a CONICET executing unit, a WHO Collaborating center and a Cochrane Center. The mission of the IECS is “to contribute to improving global health, generating and promoting the application of the best scientific evidence.”
IECS PRESS CONTACT:
Lic. Mariana Comolli, Coordinator of the Communication Unit.
Tel.: (011) 4777-8767 ext. 133. mcomolli@iecs.org.ar