Individual and environmental correlates of tap water consumption among adolescents in Canada.

The study objective was to identify correlates of tap water consumption among adolescents. French-speaking adolescents from the province of Québec (Canada) were recruited in person and online from March to July 2023 using diverse recruitment strategies. Water consumption was measured using the validated French version of a questionnaire specifically designed to measure adolescents' beverage intake. Participants answered an online survey on their attitude towards tap and bottled water which also measured individual and environmental factors that can influence tap water consumption. A total of 218 adolescents (14-17 years; 55.5% female) completed the survey. On average, 79.2% of adolescents' water intake came from tap and 33.5% of them consumed exclusively tap water. Thinking that bottled water is more convenient than tap water was a significant correlate of adolescents' tap water consumption (OR = 0.70; 95% CI: 0.51, 0.95; p = 0.0219). Adolescents who believed that bottled water is more convenient than tap water were less likely to consume exclusively tap water. Public health interventions aimed at promoting adolescents' tap water should strive to make tap water intake be perceived as convenient as bottled water, such as encouraging teenagers to always carry along a reusable water bottle, installing drinking fountains in popular public areas, and increasing the visibility of such fountains.
Competing Interests: Declaration of competing interest The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Lydi-Anne Vezina-Im reports financial support was provided by the Centre intégré de santé et de services sociaux (CISSS) de Chaudière-Appalaches. Lydi-Anne Vezina-Im reports financial support was provided by the Fondation de l'Hôtel-Dieu de Lévis. Dominique Beaulieu reports financial support was provided by the Collectif de recherche sur la santé en région. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.
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