Eighth International Conference on Food Studies

Abstract

Since the late 1990s, the study of access to healthy food in urban contexts has gained relevance in developed countries through the concept of food deserts. However, in countries like Mexico such studies are scarce. Even though the prevalence of overweight and obesity for 2015 reached 52% of the population. Thus, the identification of areas with limited access to fresh food but marked presence of processed and industrialized products is decisive in order to recognize the relationship between the food environment and public health. The objective of this work is to identify spatial patterns of access to food in Mexico City trough quantitative methods. The analysis considers mobile areas of 100 m2 for a territory covering 1495 km2 through the method of neighborhood analysis. The results show that a large part of the urban area is supplied with fresh and healthy food in coexistence with a high density of commercial establishments that offer processed products. These spatial configurations imply greater access to industrialized foods through different forms of trade which can influences the consumption patterns of the population.