The community food environment as an effect modifier of the relationship between racism and food insecurity among adults in Southern Brazil

Background We analyzed the relationship between racism, community food environment, and food insecurity in adults of different socioeconomic status. Methods This was a cross-sectional study of 400 adults aged 20–70 years residing in the central area of ​​Porto Alegre, the capital of Rio Grande do Sul state. Racism was measured by self-reported race/skin color and by using the Experiences of Discrimination scale (EOD). Food environment was assessed using the Nutrition Environment Measures Survey in Stores (NEMS-S) tool. Food insecurity was assessed using the short version of the Brazilian Food Insecurity Scale (EBIA for short, in Portuguese). Poisson regression with robust variance was employed for the multivariate analysis. Results The prevalence of food insecurity was higher in areas with a poorer food environment (areas 1 and 3; 56.6% and 58.8%, respectively). Racial discrimination was associated with food insecurity, where every 1-point increase in the discrimination score increased the likelihood of food insecurity by 7% (prevalence ratio [PR] 1.07; 95% CI, 1.03–1.20). When stratifying the analyses by food environment, racial discrimination was associated with food insecurity only in areas with a poorer food environment (PR 1.06; 95% CI, 1.01–1.10). Conclusions Experiences of racial discrimination were associated with a higher prevalence of food insecurity in the study population. The community food environment was an effect modifier of this relationship, highlighting the relevance of interventions in the food environment focused on areas with a greater presence of Black people as a way of combating racism and food insecurity.