Covid-19 pandemic: effects on the retail food environment in three different cities belonging to the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte/Pandemia de Covid-19: efeitos no ambiente alimentar de varejo em tres cidades da regiao metropolitana de Belo Horizonte

• Published in: Demetra: Alimentação, Nutrição e Saúde Nutrição e Saúde, 2022-01, Vol.17, p.1
• Main Authors: Honorio, Olivia Souza, Mendes, Larissa Loures, de Holanda, Heminelly Souza Barroso, Araujo, Melissa Luciana, Pessoa, Milene Cristine
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 2238-913X; 2238-913X
• DOI: 10.12957/demetra.2022.66672

Objective: Describing the retail food environment in the first year of Covid-19 pandemic. Method: Ecological study carried out in three different cities belonging to the metropolitan region of Belo Horizonte (MRBH). Data about retail food environment and Covid-19 pandemic were collected from secondary databases. The following variables were evaluated: establishments' opening and closing based on their type and category. Descriptive analysis (relative frequency) was performed in Stata 14.0 software; maps were plotted in QGIS 2.10.1 software. Results: Immediate-consumption food retailers were among establishments that have closed during the first year of the pandemic (Belo Horizonte, 76.53%; Betim, 69.95%; and Contagem, 70.87%). Nevertheless, the overall features of the retail food environment remained unchanged in all three investigated cities, which mostly presented high availability of ultra-processed food retailers. Conclusion: The Covid-19 pandemic had significant impact on immediate-consumption food retailers. However, it is still not possible measuring the long-term impact generated by it because this follow-up type requires identifying whether the food environment was remodeled, or not. Keywords: Covid-19. Public health. Food. Food system Objetivo: Descrever o ambiente alimentar de varejo no primeiro ano da pandemia de Covid-19. Metodo: Estudo ecologico realizado em tres cidades da regiao metropolitana de Belo Horizonte. Foram utilizados dados secundarios, da Secretaria Estadual da Fazenda de 2020, do Instituto Brasileiro de Geografia e Estatistica e da Secretaria Estadual de Saude do Estado de Minas Gerais. Avaliaram-se as seguintes variaveis: abertura e fechamento de estabelecimentos que comercializavam alimentos segundo o tipo e categorias de estabelecimentos. Foi realizada analise descritiva (frequencia relativa) com o auxilio do software Stata 14.0 e mapas com o uso do software QGIS 2.10.1. Resultados: Dentre os estabelecimentos que fecharam durante o primeiro ano de pandemia, a maioria comercializa alimentos para consumo imediato (Belo Horizonte 76,53%; Betim 69,95% e Contagem 70,87). Apesar disso, as caracteristicas gerais do ambiente alimentar de varejo se mantiveram inalteradas nas tres cidades, com alta disponibilidade dos estabelecimentos que comercializavam predominantemente alimentos ultraprocessados. Conclusao: A pandemia de Covid-19 impactou mais os estabelecimentos que comercializam alimentos para consumo imediato. Contudo, ainda nao