Search

Abstract Background Higher consumption of sugary beverages (SB) has been associated with type 2 diabetes (T2D), but whether these associations are modified by physical activity remains unclear. This study aimed to examine the associations of SB intake, including sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), artificially sweetened beverages (ASB), and natural juices (NJ) with the risk of incident T2D, and the potential role of physical activity. Methods We included 153,862 diabetes-free participants in the UK Biobank who completed both the International Physical Activity Questionnaire at recruitment (2006–2010) and at least one 24-h dietary recall questionnaire in 2009–2012. We assessed the associations of each SB with the risk of incident T2D using Cox proportional hazard models, and explored the interactions between each SB and physical activity. Results During a median follow-up of 11.8 years, 6631 participants developed incident T2D. Participants consuming more SSB and ASB (comparing > 2 to 0 unit/d) had a higher hazard of T2D (hazard ratio [HR]: 1.17, 95% confidence interval [CI]: 1.05–1.31 for SSB; 1.54, 1.37–1.74 for ASB), while medium intake of NJ showed an inverse association (HR> 0–1 vs. 0 unit/d: 0.87, 95% CI: 0.82–0.92; HR> 1–2 vs. 0 unit/d: 0.88, 95% CI: 0.81–0.97) with incident T2D. No significant interactions between physical activity and SSB/ASB were found (P-interaction=0.204 for SSB, 0.926 for ASB), but the protective association of medium NJ intake with T2D was stronger among participants with higher level of physical activity (P-interaction = 0.043). Conclusions Higher intake of SSB and ASB was related to higher risks of T2D. Medium NJ intake was associated with a lower risk of T2D, particularly among individuals with higher physical activity level. These findings emphasized the importance of healthy beverage intake and adequate physical activity in diabetes prevention.

BACKGROUND: The global nutrition transition is associated with increased consumption of ultra-processed snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages (UPF/SSB), contributing to the double burden of child obesity and undernutrition. METHODS: This cross-sectional study describes the prevalence of maternal and child UPF/SSB consumption and the factors associated with frequent consumption in a convenience sample of 749 children ages 6 months through 6 years and their mothers participating in a community-based child oral health program in five informal settlement communities in Mumbai, India. Mothers were interviewed regarding maternal and child oral health and nutrition characteristics, including consumption of beverages and foods associated with tooth decay-milk, soda, tea with sugar, sweets, and chips/biscuits-using standardized questionnaires. Spearman correlations were used to assess for associations between various social factors and the frequency of maternal and child consumption of the five food categories. Chi-square tests were used to assess differences in child consumption patterns by age groups. RESULTS: Though reported soda consumption was low among both mothers and children, nearly 60% of children consumed sweets and chips/biscuits daily, four to five times the rate of mothers. Factors associated with childrens frequent consumption of UPF/SSB included lower maternal education level, frequent maternal consumption of UPF/SSB, greater number of household members, greater amount of money given to the child, and closer proximity to a store. CONCLUSION: Our findings demonstrate social factors that may promote UPF/SSB consumption. The nutritional dangers of sugary drinks and non-nutritious snacks for mothers and young children should be addressed across maternal-child health, education, and social service programs. Early childhood nutrition interventions should involve the entire family and community and emphasize the need to limit childrens consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages from an early age.

Adequate water intake is essential for human health. Sugary beverage taxes are a best buy policy to reduce obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases. Food-based dietary guidelines (FBDGs) promote healthy dietary patterns. The study purpose was to evaluate national FBDGs for countries with sugary beverage tax legislation (2000–2023) to promote water and discourage sugary beverage consumption. We developed a coding framework to conduct a content analysis of FBDG documents, and used six indicators to identify messages and images to assign healthy hydration recommendation (HHR) scores from 0–12 to compare FBDGs across countries and six regions. Results showed 93 countries with sugary beverage tax legislation of which 58 countries (62%) had published FBDGs (1998–2023). Of 58 FBDGs reviewed, 48 (83%) had complementary recommendations that encouraged water and discouraged sugary beverages. Of 93 countries, 13 (14%) had the highest HHR scores (11–12); 22, (24%) had high HHR scores (9–10); 20 (21%) had medium HHR scores (4–8); 3 (3%) had low HHR scores (0–3); and 35 (38%) countries had no FBDGs. To reduce health risks for populations, governments must ensure policy coherence to optimize sugary beverage tax impacts by developing FBDGs that encourage water and discourage sugary beverages complementary to national policies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background The global nutrition transition is associated with increased consumption of ultra-processed snack foods and sugar-sweetened beverages (UPF/SSB), contributing to the double burden of child obesity and undernutrition. Methods This cross-sectional study describes the prevalence of maternal and child UPF/SSB consumption and the factors associated with frequent consumption in a convenience sample of 749 children ages 6 months through 6 years and their mothers participating in a community-based child oral health program in five informal settlement communities in Mumbai, India. Mothers were interviewed regarding maternal and child oral health and nutrition characteristics, including consumption of beverages and foods associated with tooth decay—milk, soda, tea with sugar, sweets, and chips/biscuits—using standardized questionnaires. Spearman correlations were used to assess for associations between various social factors and the frequency of maternal and child consumption of the five food categories. Chi-square tests were used to assess differences in child consumption patterns by age groups. Results Though reported soda consumption was low among both mothers and children, nearly 60% of children consumed sweets and chips/biscuits daily, four to five times the rate of mothers. Factors associated with children’s frequent consumption of UPF/SSB included lower maternal education level, frequent maternal consumption of UPF/SSB, greater number of household members, greater amount of money given to the child, and closer proximity to a store. Conclusion Our findings demonstrate social factors that may promote UPF/SSB consumption. The nutritional dangers of sugary drinks and non-nutritious snacks for mothers and young children should be addressed across maternal–child health, education, and social service programs. Early childhood nutrition interventions should involve the entire family and community and emphasize the need to limit children’s consumption of unhealthy foods and beverages from an early age.

Background Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are recognised as an effective intervention to prevent obesity. More countries are adopting SSB taxes, but the process of the adoption is politically complex. Objective This study aimed to analyse how public participation processes influenced the South African tax. Methods We conducted a content analysis of documents associated with the process of adopting the tax. Records were identified utilising the Parliamentary Monitoring Group database, including draft bills, meeting minutes and written submissions. The records were categorised and then inductively coded to identify themes and arguments. Results We identified six cross-cutting themes advanced by stakeholders: economic considerations, impact on the vulnerable, responsiveness of an SSB tax to the problem of obesity, appropriateness of an SSB tax in South Africa, procedural concerns, and structure of the tax. Stakeholder views and arguments about the tax diverged based on their vested interests. The primary policymaker was most responsive to arguments concerning the economic impact of a tax, procedural concerns and the structure of the tax, reducing the effective rate to address industry concerns. Conclusion Both supportive and opposing stakeholders influenced the tax. Economic arguments had a significant impact. Arguments in South Africa broadly echoed arguments advanced in many other jurisdictions.

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) taxes are recognised as an effective intervention to prevent obesity. More countries are adopting SSB taxes, but the process of the adoption is politically complex. This study aimed to analyse how public participation processes influenced the South African tax. We conducted a content analysis of documents associated with the process of adopting the tax. Records were identified utilising the Parliamentary Monitoring Group database, including draft bills, meeting minutes and written submissions. The records were categorised and then inductively coded to identify themes and arguments. We identified six cross-cutting themes advanced by stakeholders: economic considerations, impact on the vulnerable, responsiveness of an SSB tax to the problem of obesity, appropriateness of an SSB tax in South Africa, procedural concerns, and structure of the tax. Stakeholder views and arguments about the tax diverged based on their vested interests. The primary policymaker was most responsive to arguments concerning the economic impact of a tax, procedural concerns and the structure of the tax, reducing the effective rate to address industry concerns. Both supportive and opposing stakeholders influenced the tax. Economic arguments had a significant impact. Arguments in South Africa broadly echoed arguments advanced in many other jurisdictions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

PurposeThe role of consumption of added sugars in cancers of the upper aerodigestive tract (UADT) is unclear. We examined associations between sugary beverages and susceptibility to UADT cancer as well as overall survival among UADT cancer patients.MethodsThe association between dietary added sugar and susceptibility to UADT cancers or overall survival among 601 UADT cancer cases was evaluated using data from a population-based case-control study conducted in Los Angeles County. Unconditional logistic regression was used to estimate odds ratios and 95 % confidence intervals (CI) for cancer susceptibility, and Cox regression was used to estimate hazards ratios (HRs) with 95 % CIs for survival, adjusting for relevant confounders.ResultsA total of 248 deaths were observed during follow-up (median 12.1 years). A positive association was observed with consumption of grams of sugar from beverages, including soft drinks and fruit juices, and poorer survival among UADT cancer cases (aHR, Q4 vs. Q1:1.88; 95 % CI 1.29, 2.72; p for trend = 0.002), as well as servings of sugary beverages (aHR, Q4 vs. Q1: 95 % CI 1.97, 95 % CI 1.32-2.93). This was due largely to consumption of sugars from soft drinks. Particularly, high consumption of sugary beverages was associated with poorer survival among esophageal cancer cases, driven by squamous cancers. No association was observed between sugary beverages and cancer susceptibility.ConclusionThese findings suggest that consumption of sugary beverages may decrease survival associated with UADT cancers. Additional studies should be conducted to examine survival among cancer patients consuming high amounts of added or refined sugars. Such studies may highlight prognostic factors for UADT cancers.

Abstract Background Taxes on sugary beverages are an emerging strategy to improve health by reducing consumption and raising revenues to support community wellbeing. However, taxes may have unintended consequences, and perceptions of these consequences may affect attitudes towards this policy. Methods In June 2017, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance imposing a tax on sugary beverages, effective January 1, 2018. Between October and December 2017, we recruited 851 adults in Seattle to complete a survey (telephone or online) about support for the tax and their perceptions of tax-related health and economic impacts. We first analyzed data for the full sample. We then tested for differences in participants’ responses by household income level (

The consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and 100% juice before age 12 months is discouraged. We examine racial/ethnic differences in SSB and 100% juice consumption when infants were 6- and 12-months old and examine links between fathers’ and infants’ beverage consumption. Participants were from a longitudinal cohort of infants and their parents (recruited 2016–2018), followed from birth until the child was 24 months. In 2020, we analyzed data collected when infants were 6- (N = 352 infants and 168 fathers) and 12-months (N = 340 infants and 152 fathers) old. Based on maternal report, 13% of infants consumed 100% juice at 6 months and 31% at 12 months. Two percent of infants consumed SSB at 6 months and 7% at 12 months. In models adjusting for income and education, Black/African American (Black/AA) and Hispanic infants were 5–6 times as likely at 6 months and 3 times as likely at 12 months to consume 100% juice compared with non-Hispanic white and Asian infants. At 12 months, Black/AA and Hispanic infants were 6–7 times as likely to consume SSB than non-Hispanic white and Asian infants after adjusting for covariates. In unadjusted models, infants were more likely to consume 100% juice and SSB at 12 months when their fathers were high consumers (>12times/month) of the beverage; effects were no longer significant after adjusting for income, race/ethnicity, education and maternal beverage consumption. Results highlight the need to implement culturally responsive interventions promoting healthy beverage consumption in infants prior to birth and should concurrently target fathers, in addition to mothers.

Objectives: The unresolved issue of the relationship between sex differences in tea, coffee, and beverage consumption and malignancy risk prompted our study in 2022. Methods: Logistic proportional hazards models were used to estimate odds ratios (ORs) and 95% confidence intervals (CIs) in our investigation of the associations between cancer risk and tea, coffee, and beverage consumption. Results: Our findings revealed that frequent consumption of white tea significantly reduced the occurrence of malignant tumours, but this effect was detected only in the fully adjusted model for males (OR: 0.736, 95% CI: 0.095-5.704). The amount of sugar added to coffee was associated with an increased risk of malignancy in a dose-dependent manner (P for trend = 0.001), with significance observed for both men (P for trend = 0.049) and women (P for trend = 0.005) in the final model. Notably, individuals who consumed more than 2100 ml of sugary beverages daily had a statistically significant reduction in malignancy risk (OR: 0.219, 95% CI: 0.052-0.917). Interestingly, the intake of sugary beverages had a protective effect on cancer incidence, with a significant effect on males (P for trend = 0.031) but not females (P for trend = 0.096) in the final model. Conclusions: Our study highlights the substantial impact of regular white tea consumption on reducing the risk of malignant tumours in males. This study first reported that the potential protective effect of consuming sugary beverages is predominantly observed in males, and a correlation between the amount of sugar added to coffee and a heightened risk of malignancy., Competing Interests: Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interest exists., (© The author(s).)

Consumption of added sugar is associated with weight gain and metabolic syndrome, but most importantly with cardiovascular disease (CVD) morbidity and mortality. Sugarsweetened beverages (SSBs) in the form of soft drinks or sodas constitute a major source of added sugar with its attendant ill effects on health. Of particular concern is the rising consumption of soft drinks among young people. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends the reduction of free sugars to <10% of total energy intake due to their potential implications in dental caries, weight gain and CVD consequences, however, adherence to this recommendation is generally very low. Noncaloric drinks in the form of artificially sweetened beverages (ASBs) (diet sodas) are popular as alternatives to SSBs. However, these sweeteners may also have various negative, albeit at a lesser degree, health outcomes, including weight gain, obesity, metabolic syndrome, type II diabetes, and CV events. Finally, substantially lower health risks are incurred from 100% fruit juice consumption compared with SSBs. All these issues are herein reviewed and measures are discussed to lessen the consequences of such an unhealthy dietary behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The frequent consumption of sugary beverages is associated with many health risks. This study examined how persuasive appeals and graphics were used in different media campaigns to encourage and discourage sugary beverages and water in the United States (U.S.) The investigators developed a codebook, protocol and systematic process to conduct a qualitative content analysis for 280 media campaigns organized into a typology with six categories. SPSS version 28.0 was used to analyze rational and emotional appeals (i.e., positive, negative, coactive) for campaign slogans, taglines and graphic images (i.e., symbols, colors, audiences) for 60 unique campaigns across the typology. Results showed that positive emotional appeals were used more to promote sugary beverages in corporate advertising and marketing (64.7%) and social responsibility campaigns (68.8%), and less to encourage water in social marketing campaigns (30%). In contrast, public awareness campaigns used negative emotional appeals (48.1%), and advocacy campaigns combined rational (30%) and emotional positive (50%) and negative appeals (30%). Public policy campaigns used rational (82.6%) and positive emotional appeals (73.9%) to motivate support or opposition for sugary beverage tax legislation. Chi-square analyses assessed the relationships between the U.S. media campaign typology categories and graphic elements that revealed three variables with significant associations between the campaign typology and race/ethnicity (χ 2 (103) = 32.445, p = 0.039), content (χ 2 (103) = 70.760, p < 0.001) and product image (χ 2 (103) = 11.930, p = 0.036). Future research should examine how positive persuasive appeals in text and graphics can promote water to reduce sugary beverage health risks.

Objective: To assess potential misperceptions among parents regarding the healthfulness of sugary drinks for their children.Design: Online survey of parents. Participants identified the categories and specific brands of sugary drinks they provided for their children. They also indicated their perceptions of sugary drink categories and brands as healthy options for children, perceived importance of on-package claims in purchase decisions and their concerns about common sugary drink ingredients.Setting: Online market research panel.Subjects: Parents (n 982) of 2- to 17-year-olds, 46 % non-white or Hispanic.Results: Ninety-six per cent of parents provided on average 2·9 different categories of sugary drinks for their children in the past month. Flavoured waters, fruit drinks and sports drinks were rated as the healthiest sugary drink categories. Across all categories and brands, parents who purchased specific products rated them as significantly healthier than those who did not (P<0·05). Over half of parents reported concern about caffeine, sugar and artificial sweeteners in sugary drinks that their children consume and approximately one-third reported that on-package ingredient claims were important in their purchase decisions.Conclusions: Nearly all parents provide sugary drinks for their children and many believe that some sugary drinks are healthy options for children, particularly flavoured waters, fruit drinks and sports drinks. Furthermore, many parents rely upon on-package claims in their purchase decisions. Given excessive consumption of added sugar by children in the home, there is a continuing need to address parents' misperceptions about the healthfulness of many sugary drink products. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

While no solid, structured studies were found to support specific recommendations of water consumption, the main problem seems to be the excessive intake of sugary beverages. The recommended figure of 1-1.5 mL of water per kcal of energy intake is a reference value that must consider weather, physical activity, and dietary variations. At ages up to six months, all water must come from maternal milk, of which an intake of 100-190 mL/kg/day is recommended; at ages 6-12 months, 800-1000 mL/day, considering milk and a gradual introduction of water. Children aged 2-3 years old must have 1,300 mL/day, and those aged 4-8 years old, 1,600 mL/day. Females aged 9-13 years old must consume 1,900 mL/day while the water intake of males must be 2,100 mL/day. For those aged 14 years old or more, adult recommendations apply. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Few studies have investigated the association between sugar intake and insulin dynamics in children, and none have examined this association in overweight Latino youth. Objective: We aimed to examine the relation between dietary components, especially sugar intake, and insulin dynamics in overweight Latino youth. Design: We examined 63 overweight Latino children aged 9-13 y. Dietary intake was determined by 3-d records, and body composition was measured with dual-energy X-ray absorptiometry. Insulin sensitivity (SI), acute insulin response (AIR), and disposition index (an index of β cell function) were measured by using a frequently sampled intravenous-glucose-tolerance test and minimal modeling. Hierarchical regression analysis ascertained the potential independent relation between insulin dynamics and dietary components. Results: The relation between macronutrient intake and any variable related to insulin dynamics was not significant. However, higher total sugar intake, although not related to SI, was significantly associated with lower AIR (β = -0.296, P = 0.045) and lower β cell function (β = -0.421, P = 0.043), independent of the covariates age, sex, body composition, Tanner stage, and energy intake. Sugar-sweetened beverage intakes trended toward inverse association with lower AIR (β = -0.219, P = 0.072) and β cell function (β = -0.298, P = 0.077). Conclusions: In overweight Latino children, higher intakes of sugar and sugar-sweetened beverages were associated with lower AIR and disposition index, which suggested that these children already have early signs of poor β cell function. These results emphasize the need for early nutritional interventions to reduce daily sugar intake in overweight Latino children and potentially reduce their risk for type 2 diabetes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Adolescence represents a critical transition phase during which individuals acquire eating behaviours that can track into adulthood. This study aims to characterise trends in eating behaviours throughout adolescence by investigating the presence of sub-groups of individuals presenting distinct trajectories of vegetable and fruit, sugary beverage, breakfast and fast-food consumption. Data from 744 MATCH study Canadian participants followed from 11 to 18 Years old (2013–2019) were included in the analyses. Participants reported how often they ate breakfast and consumed vegetables and fruits, sugary beverages and fast foods. Trajectories of eating behaviours over seven years were identified using group-based multi-trajectory modelling. For girls, three different groups were identified, namely 'stable food intake with a decline in daily breakfast consumption' (39.9%), 'moderate food intake and worsening in overall eating behaviours' (38.0%) and 'stable high food intake' (22.1%). For boys, five different groups were identified, namely 'low food intake with stable daily breakfast consumption' (27.3%), 'breakfast-skippers and increasing fast food intake' (27.1%), 'low food intake with a decline in daily breakfast consumption' (23.9%), 'high food intake with worsening of eating behaviours' (13.3%) and 'average food intake with consistently high breakfast consumption' (8.4%). Eating behaviours evolve through various distinct trajectories and sub-group-specific strategies may be required to promote healthy eating behaviours among adolescents. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Interventions to discourage sugary beverages and encourage water consumption have produced modest and unsustainable behavioral changes to reduce obesity and noncommunicable disease risks. This systematic scoping review examined media campaigns to develop a typology to support healthy hydration nonalcoholic beverage behaviors. Our three-step methodology included the following: (1) review and summarize expert-recommended healthy beverage guidelines; (2) review six English-language electronic databases guided by PRISMA to describe existing campaign types by issue, goal and underlying theory; and (3) develop a media campaign typology to support policies, systems and environments to encourage healthy hydration behaviors. Results showed no international consensus for healthy beverage guidelines, though we describe expert-recommended healthy beverage guidelines for the United States. Of 909 records identified, we included 24 articles describing distinct media campaigns and nine sources that defined models, schemes or taxonomies. The final media campaign typology included: (1) corporate advertising, marketing or entertainment; (2) corporate social responsibility, public relations/cause marketing; (3) social marketing; (4) public information, awareness, education/ health promotion; (5) media advocacy/countermarketing; and (6) political or public policy. This proof-of-concept media campaign typology can be used to evaluate their collective impact and support for a social change movement to reduce sugary beverage health risks and to encourage healthy hydration behaviors.

Background: Taxes on sugary beverages are an emerging strategy to improve health by reducing consumption and raising revenues to support community wellbeing. However, taxes may have unintended consequences, and perceptions of these consequences may affect attitudes towards this policy.Methods: In June 2017, the Seattle City Council passed an ordinance imposing a tax on sugary beverages, effective January 1, 2018. Between October and December 2017, we recruited 851 adults in Seattle to complete a survey (telephone or online) about support for the tax and their perceptions of tax-related health and economic impacts. We first analyzed data for the full sample. We then tested for differences in participants' responses by household income level (< 260% Federal Poverty Level [FPL], ≥ 260% FPL) and across race/ethnicities using chi-square tests. Analyses used population weights and adjusted for multiple comparisons, using the Holm-Bonferroni Sequential Correction (p < 0.01).Results: A majority of participants supported the sugary beverage tax (59%; 95% Confidence Interval [CI]: 55, 63%) and believed that the tax would improve public health (56%; CI: 52, 60%). Most participants believed that the tax would not negatively affect small businesses (52%; CI: 48, 56%) nor result in job loss (66%; CI: 62, 70%). Most participants also perceived that the tax would not negatively impact their own finances (79%; CI: 75, 82%). However, fewer lower-income (48%; CI: 42, 53%), versus higher-income participants (61%; CI: 55, 66%), perceived that the tax would improve public health, would not result in job loss (lower-income: 58%; CI: 53, 64%; higher-income: 71%; CI: 66, 75%) and would not negatively affect their own finances (lower-income: 68%; CI: 62, 73%; higher-income: 85%; CI: 81, 88%). Compared to non-Hispanic Whites, (82%; CI: 79, 86%), a smaller proportion of non-Hispanic Blacks (63%; 95% CI: 48, 75%), and Hispanics (67%; 95% CI: 51, 79%), perceived that the tax would have negative consequences for their own family finances.Conclusions: A majority of respondents supported the sugary beverage tax in Seattle. Lower-income participants were more concerned about potential financial consequences. Further evaluation of the extent to which unintended consequences occur is needed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]