Exploring Factors That Influence Children’s Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages at Home

University of California at Los Angeles: UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion

Topics:
Nutrition & Physical Activity for Youth | Obesity and Overweight

Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), such as non-diet sodas and energy, fruit, and sports drinks, has been associated with weight gain among youth. The rate at which youth drink SSBs has increased substantially over the past 20 years. During that same time period, the rate of overweight youth has tripled among adolescents and more than doubled among younger children. Little research has been done to determine factors in the home environment that contribute to drinking SSBs or to identify differences among racial and ethnic groups that may affect home consumption.

To gain more information, the UCLA/RAND Center for Adolescent Health Promotion at the University of California at Los Angeles created a center-community study team. The team comprises members from a local school district, a community coalition for healthy living, a community advisory board, and a youth advisory board as well as representatives from schools and school boards, parent groups, local businesses, youth-serving organizations, and health care providers. Team members designed a 2-year project to conduct telephone interviews, home visits, and neighborhood observations.

The interviews and home visits will explore the differences in the purchase, availability, and consumption of SSBs by racial or ethnic group, and the family dynamics that contribute to each of these processes. During the neighborhood observations, the project staff will identify community factors that affect families' consumption of SSBs and of nutritious foods as well. After analyzing the information gathered, the center-community study team will develop effective, sustainable, and culturally appropriate interventions to reduce youth consumption of SSBs.

 

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