LATEBREAKER
Nutrition/Obesity
Association of soft drinks consumption and modifiable health behavior in a Brazilian nationally representative school-based study Luciana B Nucci* Luciana Nucci Carina C Castelucci S. Cristina Oancea
High consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is associated with type II diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and various cancers. Soft drinks are a major component of daily caloric and sugar intake, and the leading SSB consumed by Brazilians. This study aimed to investigate the amount of soft drink consumption (SDC) among adolescents and its associated health risk behaviors (HRB).
Data are from a 2019 cross-sectional school-based Brazil national survey (n=142,883 students ages 13–17 years). The outcome variables were defined by five modifiable HRB related to alcohol consumption, tobacco use, physical activity, screen time, and eating habits for adolescents. Latent class analysis was used to group participants based on HRB and we identified 3 distinct classes: 1- sedentary lifestyle (45.4%); 2- alcohol/tobacco use and unhealthy eating habits (10.6%); and 3- minimal health risks (44.0%). The association of these patterns with SDC was analyzed through multinomial logistic regression, adjusting for sex, age, race, school year, and type of school (public or private).
Consumption of soft drinks on 4-6 days and every day in the last week was seen in 16.7% (95%CI: 16.1-17.2%) and 8.7% (95%CI: 8.3-9.1%) of the students. Compared to those who did not consume soft drinks the week before, the adjusted OR of SDC on 1-3, 4-6, and every day in the last week were 1.35 (95%CI: 1.28-1.43), 2.4 (95%CI: 2.2-2.6), and 3.3 (95%CI: 3.0-3.7) for those with a sedentary health style; and of 1.9 (95%CI: 1.7-2.1), 4.5 (95%CI: 3.9-5.1), and 7.6 (95%CI: 6.5-9.0) for those with higher probabilities of alcohol/tobacco use and unhealthy eating habits.
In conclusion, the studied HRBs were associated with significantly greater SDC among Brazilian adolescents. Identifying adolescents more likely to consume soft drinks regularly can inform targeted lifestyle interventions. Furthermore, policies that aim to reduce the consumption of these unhealthy beverages are justified.