Dental News - Sugary beverage consumption in US declining, but high among certain groups

Dental Tribune International

Fri. 24. November 2017

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BOSTON, U.S.: Consumption of sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) fell for both children and adults between 2003 and 2014, according to a new study led by researchers from the Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health in the U.S. Despite this encouraging trend, however, the researchers found that consumption remained high among adolescents and young adults and particularly high among black, Mexican-American and non-Mexican Hispanic populations.

“SSBs are a leading source of added sugar to the diet for adults and children in the U.S. and their consumption is strongly linked to obesity,” said first author Prof. Sara Bleich. “Understanding which groups are most likely to consume SSBs is critical for the development of effective approaches to reduce SSB consumption.”

Bleich and her colleagues examined data on 18,600 children aged 2–19 and 27,652 adults aged 20 or older from the 2003–2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Participants were asked about their consumption of seven beverage types in the previous 24 hours: SSBs, 100 percent juice, diet beverages, milk (including flavored milk), unsweetened coffee or tea, alcohol, and water.

The researchers found that overall beverage and SSB consumption declined for children and adults over the study period. In 2013–2014, 60.7 percent of children and 50.0 percent of adults reported drinking SSBs on a given day; in 2003–2004, 79.7 percent of children and 61.5 percent of adults reported drinking SSBs. However, adolescents and young adults still consumed more than the recommended limit for added sugars set by the 2015–2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

While white adults across almost all age groups drank less SSBs, there were few significant changes for other racial and ethnic groups. SSB consumption remained highest among black, Mexican-American and non-Mexican Hispanic adolescents—groups at higher risk of obesity, Type 2 diabetes and dental caries.

Higher consumption of milk (compared with SSBs) among younger children and an increasing percentage of water drinkers among children and adults were two notable positive trends. The increase in water consumption was a surprise, Bleich said. “This suggests that messages about drinking non-calorie beverages are having an effect.”

The study is the first to present the most recent national data on beverage consumption from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, which is the gold standard for understanding consumption trends and patterns in the U.S.

The study, titled “Trends in beverage consumption among children and adults, 2003-2014,” was published online on Nov. 14 in the Obesity journal.