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Despite declines in sugar-sweetened beverage intake, consumption stable among Hispanics
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Sugar-sweetened beverage intake in the United States declined between 2003 and 2014 in both children and adults, but consumption rates remained steady among Mexican-American and non-Mexican Hispanic adults, according to findings published in Obesity.
Sarah N. Bleich, PhD, professor in the department of health policy and management at Harvard T. H. Chan School of Public Health, and colleagues evaluated data from the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2014 on 18,600 children aged 2 to 19 years and 27,652 adults to determine the most recent national estimates for beverage consumption.
Intake declined from 79.7% of children drinking sugar-sweetened beverages each day in 2003 to 60.7% in 2014 (P < .001) and from 61.5% of adults in 2003 to 50% in 2014 (P < .001). The prevalence of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption decreased across all age groups (aged 2 to 5 years; 6 to 11 years; 12 to 19 years) for children (P < .001 for all three). No significant declines were observed in sugar-sweetened beverage consumption for non-Mexican Hispanic children. The prevalence of sugar-sweetened beverage intake decreased significantly in adults aged 20 to 39 years and 40 to 59 years. No significant declines were observed for Mexican-American or non-Mexican Hispanic adults.
“Consumption of sugary beverages has dropped for all age groups, but levels of consumption remain highest among black, Mexican and other Hispanics, who are also at high risk for obesity,” Bleich told Endocrine Today. “Secular declines in sugary beverages may help to reduce risk for diseases like obesity and diabetes at the population level. Going forward, we need to continue to monitor levels of sugary beverage consumption and identify effective and targeted strategies for reducing sugary beverage consumption among the highest consumers.” – by Amber Cox
For more information:
Sarah N. Bleich, PhD, can be reached at sbleich@hsph.harvard.edu.
Disclosure s : The authors report no relevant financial disclosures.
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