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Interventions reduce sugar-sweetened beverage intake in children, not adults
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Public health interventions to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages produced medium-sized reductions among children, but only small reductions in consumption among adolescents and adults, according to a recently published meta-analysis.
“Evidence that links higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages with greater risk of tooth decay, weight gain, type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease continues to grow and supports the need for public health and community action,” E.J. Vargas-Garcia, of the Nutritional Epidemiology Group at the School of Food Science and Nutrition, University of Leeds, U.K., and colleagues wrote. “Initiatives to reduce consumption of [sugar-sweetened beverages] are delivered through a variety of public health interventions and with different approaches taken. Whilst behavior change interventions are considered as fundamental in public health practice, evidence remains scarce around the type of interventions most effective in reducing consumption of [sugar-sweetened beverages] and increasing water intakes across all age groups.”
The researchers performed a meta-analysis of 40 studies with 16,505 participants, all of which were published between January 1990 and December 2016. Each study reported the patients’ daily changes in sugar-sweetened beverage or water intake as a result of interventions and behavior change techniques. Interventions occurred in educational settings, at home, in community centers and in clinical settings. Vargas-Garcia and colleagues calculated mean differences in consumption and used random-effects models to synthesize data.
Among children, interventions significantly decreased the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, the researchers reported (76 mL/day-1; 95% CI, –105 to –46; 23 studies). Interventions produced a slightly less significant decrease in adolescents (–66 mL/day-1; 95% CI, –130 to –2; five studies), but only a small reduction in consumption by adults (-13 mL/day-1; 95% CI, –44 to 18; 12 studies).
The researchers could perform pooled estimates of water intake only in interventions designed for children, with seven studies showing an increase in water consumption (67 mL/day-1; 95% CI, 6-128). Among children, Vargas-Garcia and colleagues wrote that evidence suggested demonstrating water intake and reduced sugar-sweetened beverage consumption helped improve outcomes, and that home-based interventions were more effective than school-based interventions.
“In summary, our analysis indicates that interventions achieve, on average, medium-sized reductions in consumption of [sugar-sweetened beverages] and increase water intakes in children, but reductions in [sugar-sweetened beverages] in adolescents and adults are small,” the researchers wrote. “Although public health programs on their own are moderately successful to influence intake of [sugar-sweetened beverages] and water, complementary strategies may be needed to effectively curb free sugar intake.” – by Andy Polhamus
Disclosures : Vargas-Garcia reports no relevant financial disclosures. Please see the full study for a complete list of all other researchers’ relevant financial disclosures.
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