This article is more than 5 years old. Information may no longer be current.

School policies reduced student soda consumption

Schools with policies that limited exposure to sugar-sweetened beverages and associated marketing had lower rates of daily student consumption of regular soda, according to recent data.

“The relationship between school policies and [sugar-sweetened beverage] consumption is particularly relevant to adolescents, who consume more [sugar-sweetened beverages] and consume a greater percent of their calories from [sugar-sweetened beverages] than younger children,” Gabrielle F. Miller, PhD, from the CDC’s Division of Population Health at the National Center for Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion, and colleagues wrote. “Yet policies and guidance around the sale of [sugar-sweetened beverages] have been, and continue to be, less restrictive at the high school level compared to middle schools and especially elementary schools.”

Researchers extracted data on district-level policies and student level data from the 2012 School Health Policies and Practices Study (SHPSS) and the 2013 Youth Risk Behavior Surveys (YRBS), for 12 large urban school districts. The outcome variable, soda consumption, was derived from a single question in the YRBS, and the exposure variables were derived from five questions on the SHPSS about district policies.

Covariates included grade, sex, race/ethnicity, and weight status. Physical activity and time spent watching television/playing computer games were included as a binary variable. The percentage of students eligible for a free-lunch or reduced priced lunch was included as a categorical variable.

According to the findings, most school districts had policies in place to teach about nutrition and dietary behavior and to maintain closed campuses. Most districts were not required to make healthy beverage options available to students when sugar-sweetened beverages were offered and sold.

Chi-Square analysis was used to compare students who consumed SSBs more than once a day and those who did not.

Adjusted odds ratios for multivariate logistic regression showed that high school students made healthier choices when alternative beverages, such as low-fat and nonfat milk, were available (aOR = 0.76; 95% CI, 0.63-0.91), access to promotional products was restricted (aOR = 0.84; 95% CI, 0.71-1), and when purchase of sugar-sweetened beverages was restricted to certain times (aOR = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.54-0.93).

District policies related to closed campuses or nutritional education were not significantly associated with students’ regular soda consumption.

“Findings from this study showed that some district-level policies have the potential to impact student consumption of regular soda. However, other factors such as TV viewing and video game/computer use may play a role as well,” Miller and colleagues wrote. “Because of the fact that regular soda intake has been associated with adverse health outcomes, students’ consumption is of interest to public health practitioners and educators alike. These findings add to a growing consensus that policies and practices around marketing of foods and beverages are needed in schools.” - by Taylor Groff

Disclosure: The researchers report no relevant financial disclosures.