Introduction:

The high prevalence of overweight and unhealthy eating habits in the school population of Argentina requires an analysis of school environments. The aim was to characterize the availability of food outlets and food advertising around public elementary schools in General San Martín City (GSM), Buenos Aires Province.

Methodology:

Observational, descriptive, cross-sectional study. All public schools in GSM were included. The characteristics of the points of foods sale and advertising in a 100-meter radius around each school were described using the Google® Street View tool. Food advertisements were categorized according to the Dietary Guidelines for the Argentine Population of 2016 (GAPA).

Results:

In the environment of the 57 schools analyzed, 242 food points of sale were identified, of which 85.1% were unhealthy, 38.4% of which corresponded to kiosks. A total of 63.6% of the points of sale were located in the central zone, followed by the southeast (19.4%) and northwest (16.9%). A total of 446 foods advertisements were found, 54.7% of which corresponded to advertisements visualizing the brand and product image, 98.2% were located at the point of sale, 90% corresponded to billboards and 14.7% presented marketing strategies. When classifying the foods advertised, 82% corresponded to the optional group of the GAPA.

Conclusions:

More than 85% of the sales points were characterized as unhealthy and 82% of the advertised foods corresponded to unhealthy, categorized as the optional group of the GAPA. The study of school environments should be a tool for monitoring and evaluating policies that promote the right to adequate food.

Funding:

Center for Urban Economic Studies (CEEU, EEyNN) of the National University of San Martin.

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