Research
projects
Economy, markets
and food environments
Characterization of food and beverage advertising in public spaces in Montevideo
Principal researcher: Gastón Ares
Funding: Intendencia de Montevideo
Period: 2026
The project’s objective is to characterize food and beverage advertising in public spaces of relevance to children and adolescents in Montevideo. The study will use a descriptive observational design with a quantitative approach. An audit of outdoor food and beverage advertising will be conducted in the vicinity of parks and public squares throughout the city. Each advertisement will be comprehensively documented, and its content will be analyzed using inductive content analysis. Descriptive statistics will be used to characterize food and beverage advertising in public spaces across the department, and the potential exposure of children and adolescents to unhealthy food and beverage advertising along routes from public transport stops to these public spaces will be estimated. The final stage of the project will focus on evaluating the effectiveness of different types of advertising restrictions in reducing children’s and adolescents’ exposure to unhealthy food and beverage advertising. The project will make a substantial contribution to the literature by generating novel empirical evidence of international relevance.
Cost of meeting the nutritional needs of children and adolescents: Contributions to the innovation of Uruguay’s social protection system
Principal researchers: Gabriela Fajardo, Gerónimo Brunet
Funding: CSIC, Udelar - Programa I+D
Period: 2025-2027
Investment in social protection policies targeting children and adolescents is essential to ensure the full realization of their rights, as well as their growth, development, and well-being, while also generating positive economic returns for society as a whole. In Uruguay, the high prevalence of poverty and food insecurity among children and adolescents underscores the need for new strategies to address these challenges. Against this background, the objective of this project is to analyze the cost of meeting the nutritional needs of children and adolescents in Uruguayan households with different socioeconomic, demographic, and territorial characteristics. Specifically, the project aims to estimate the cost of meeting nutritional requirements by developing nutritionally based food baskets for different age groups and to examine differences in the prices of the foods included and in the total cost of these baskets according to household food expenditure patterns. In addition, the project will estimate the cost difference between food baskets that include and exclude ultra-processed foods and will assess the cost of implementing a universal benefit that would cover the nutritional needs of the target groups as a complement to Uruguay’s existing social protection system. The methodological approach will consist of secondary data analysis using the 2016–2017 National Household Income and Expenditure Survey and the Consumer Price Index. Nutritional requirements and dietary targets for children and adolescents will be established according to sex and age based on national and international recommendations. Nutritionally based food baskets will then be developed using linear programming techniques. The cost of these baskets will be estimated, and their affordability will be assessed across households with different characteristics, as well as their evolution over time. The project adopts an interdisciplinary theoretical framework, drawing on concepts from food systems research, neoclassical approaches to poverty, and theories of universal basic income. The findings will provide evidence to support methodological improvements in poverty measurement and inform the design of public policies aimed at improving the well-being of socioeconomically vulnerable children and adolescents. In particular, the project could provide evidence to support the implementation of universal benefits for this population, using the cost of meeting nutritional needs as a reference criterion for determining benefit levels.
Cost structure of healthy foods considering their environmental impact: A case study in Uruguay
Principal researcher: Alejandra Girona
Funding: FAO
Period: 2024-2025
The overall objective of this project is to conduct a case study to analyze the cost structure and environmental impact of the production, distribution, and commercialization of a healthy food item in Uruguay. To achieve this objective, the project will pursue the following specific aims: (i) to examine the cost structure of a healthy food item in Uruguay, and (ii) to assess the environmental impact associated with its production and commercialization. A Value Chain Analysis (VCA) will be used to estimate the cost structure of the production and commercialization of the selected food item, while Life Cycle Assessment (LCA) will be employed to estimate its environmental impact. The project will provide a comprehensive understanding of both the cost structure and the environmental impact associated with the production and commercialization of a healthy food item in Uruguay. It is expected to identify the main factors affecting the sector’s profitability, including the direct and indirect costs associated with each stage of the value chain. In addition, the application of LCA will quantify key environmental impacts, such as greenhouse gas emissions, water footprint, and natural resource use. The findings will help identify strategies to optimize costs and improve efficiency throughout the value chain under the selected production and commercialization configurations, while also informing strategies to mitigate environmental impacts.
Development of a nutritionally based food basket for the Uruguayan population
Principal researchers: Gabriela Fajardo, Gerónimo Brunet
Funding: CSIC, Udelar - Programa I+D
Period: 2023-2025
Malnutrition in all its forms is the leading cause of morbidity and mortality worldwide. Evidence from Uruguay indicates that the country’s population faces an unfavorable dietary and nutritional situation, characterized by the coexistence of undernutrition and overnutrition. These findings underscore the need for policy action. Designing strategies to improve access to adequate food and ensure the realization of the right to food requires new methodological approaches and the generation of empirical evidence to address existing knowledge gaps in the country. The objective of this project is to analyze the characteristics and structure of household food expenditure in Uruguay in relation to households’ ability to afford a nutritionally based food basket. Its specific objectives are to: (i) develop a nutritionally based food basket for the Uruguayan population; (ii) estimate its cost; (iii) analyze household expenditure on food and beverages; (iv) examine the distribution of households according to the proportion of their income that would be required to purchase the food basket; (v) analyze household expenditure patterns and socioeconomic characteristics according to the share of income needed to purchase the basket; and (vi) compare the apparent per capita consumption of different food groups across households requiring different proportions of their income to purchase the basket. The methodological approach will involve the analysis of secondary data from the 2016–2017 National Household Income and Expenditure Survey, the development of a nutritionally based food basket grounded in dietary recommendations, and the estimation of its cost. Developing a nutritionally based food basket will provide valuable evidence to inform economic and public policy decisions aimed at ensuring the full realization of the right to adequate food in Uruguay. In addition, the findings will contribute to a critical review of the methodologies currently used to calculate the country’s indigence and poverty lines.
Characterization of retail food environments in Montevideo
Principal researcher: Leticia Vidal
Funding: ANII - Fondo Clemente Estable
Period: 2023-2025
The characteristics of retail food environments have been associated with food purchasing and consumption patterns, as well as with the prevalence of obesity and non-communicable diseases. Physical accessibility or proximity to food retail outlets is one of the most commonly used dimensions to characterize retail food environments. In this context, characterizing these environments provides valuable evidence to inform the design of public policies aimed at ensuring the population’s right to adequate food, while also enabling interventions to be targeted according to food availability in specific areas of the territory. Despite the importance of this topic, it has not yet been investigated in Uruguay. The objective of this project is to characterize retail food environments in Montevideo by analyzing the spatial distribution of different types of food retail outlets using secondary data sources. Based on the information obtained, the project will identify areas of Montevideo with limited access to foods recommended by the Dietary Guidelines for the Uruguayan Population and examine their sociodemographic characteristics. In addition, a qualitative approach will be used to explore the experiences of people living in these areas regarding access to food.
Digital marketing of ultra-processed products targeting adolescents: Prevalence and influence on decision-making
Principal researcher: Gastón Ares
Funding: CSIC, Udelar
Period: 2021-2023
Overweight and obesity among adolescents have increased rapidly and have become one of the leading public health challenges both globally and in Uruguay. One of the main drivers of this trend is the high consumption of ultra-processed products. These products are characterized by low nutritional quality and excessive amounts of sugars, total fat, saturated fat, sodium, and food additives. Frequent consumption has been associated with an increased risk of overweight, obesity, dyslipidemia, metabolic syndrome, cancer, and all-cause mortality. Marketing is one of the factors contributing to the high consumption of ultra-processed products among adolescents. Most research on the effects of food marketing has focused primarily on television advertising and, to a lesser extent, on marketing strategies used on product packaging. However, digital marketing through websites and social media has expanded considerably in recent years. Owing to its unique characteristics, digital marketing may exert a greater influence on the meanings adolescents attach to foods and on their eating habits than traditional forms of marketing. Against this background, the overall objective of this project is to assess the prevalence and impact of digital marketing of ultra-processed products targeting adolescents. A mixed-methods approach will be used to evaluate both the prevalence and the impact of this marketing. By combining qualitative and quantitative methods, the study will identify patterns and trends related to adolescents’ exposure to digital marketing and its influence, while also exploring the attitudes and motivations that explain how digital marketing shapes the consumption of ultra-processed products among this population. To achieve these objectives, the project will consist of four complementary studies. First, a survey of the digital marketing strategies used by manufacturers of ultra-processed products to target adolescents will be conducted. Second, questionnaires will be administered to assess adolescents’ exposure to digital marketing and its influence on their consumption of ultra-processed products. Third, focus group discussions will be carried out to explore adolescents’ attitudes toward the marketing of ultra-processed products—particularly digital marketing—and their perceptions of its influence on product selection. Finally, experimental studies will be conducted to evaluate the effect of digital marketing on adolescents’ decision-making. The findings of this project will provide valuable evidence to inform the development of regulations on the digital marketing of ultra-processed products targeting adolescents in Uruguay. Such regulations are needed to protect the health of children and adolescents and to ensure compliance with the rights established under the Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Food offerings in food service facilities for public employees in Montevideo
Principal researcher: Gastón Ares
Funding: Intendencia de Montevideo
Period: 2021-2022
The objective of this project was to assess the food offerings available in food service facilities serving public employees in the Department of Montevideo. The study population included all government agencies with their own budget allocation under the national budget whose employees work in Montevideo. In the first stage, agencies offering any type of food service were identified. In the second stage, between August and November 2020, a sample of 26 food service facilities was characterized through interviews with the person in charge and direct observation of the dining area. Food service facilities were identified in 20 of the 45 government agencies with their own budget allocation under the national budget. Several agencies operated more than one food service facility. The characterization of the sample of 26 facilities revealed substantial heterogeneity in their operational characteristics. Regarding the food offerings, a wide variety of foods was identified. The menus provided for different meal occasions were predominantly prepared on-site using natural or minimally processed foods and culinary ingredients. However, ultra-processed products were also frequently available, primarily through the sale of soft drinks and snack foods. The findings made it possible to identify strategies that could contribute to improving the food offerings in food service facilities serving public employees in the Department of Montevideo.