Ambiente alimentar medido e percebido e sua relação com o excesso de peso de crianças residentes em área de vulnerabilidade social, Maceió-AL, Nordeste do Brasil

Abstract

The food environment of the region where the child lives has been increasingly related to the child's nutritional status. Thus, the objective of this study was to identify whether the overweight children living in areas of social vulnerability are related to the food environment in which they are inserted. A cross-sectional study was conducted with 649 children under five years of age living in subnormal agglomerations in the Municipality of Maceió, Alagoas, Brazil, with an analysis of 624 establishments. Most establishments had a priority sale of ultraprocessed products (68.6%). This situation is similar to the children's mothers' perception of the environment, identifying that 58.4% perceived the food environment in their neighborhood as less healthy. Of the establishments studied, 75.0% provided candies and chocolate-filled cookies at the checkout counters. Only 28.2% had the FLV section at the store's entrance, as opposed to the display of goodies at the cashier, which reached 63.1%. Excess weight was found in a high prevalence (19.8%) in the children studied, a situation that draws attention due to the high access to ultra-processed foods, aggravated by the fact that 47.0% of the families live below the poverty line. The more significant number of ultra-processed foods and sweetened beverages in the establishments acted as a risk factor for overweight, while the establishment not having corn chips, sweets, and cookies available for sale at the cashiers was a protective factor. We highlight as a strong point the potential to reinforce the importance of environmental determinants in the context of overweight children, especially in the population living in a situation of social vulnerability.