ResearchNational trends in soft drink consumption among children and adolescents age 6 to 17 years: Prevalence, amounts, and sources, 1977/1978 to 1994/1998
Section snippets
Subjects and procedures
Data for this study were collected as part of the USDA food consumption surveys 25, 26, 27, 28. The 1977/1978 data are from the Nationwide Food Consumption Survey 1977/1978 (NFCS) 25, 26, 27; the 1994/1998 data are from the 1994/1996 Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals (CSFII) (28) and the 1998 Supplemental Children’s Survey (28). The NFCS and the CSFII surveys were designed to provide a nationally representative sample of noninstitutionalized individuals of all ages living in the
Trends in of soft drink consumption
Table 1 shows the trends in soft drink consumption between 1977/1978 and 1994/1998 by gender and age group. Soft drink consumption is represented in three ways: mean fluid ounces consumed among all children; percent of children who reported consuming any soft drinks (prevalence); and mean fluid ounces among children who reported consuming any soft drinks. Mean consumption of carbonated soft drinks among school-aged children was more than twice as high in 1994/1998 compared with 1977/1978 (12 fl
Discussion
The purpose of this study was to examine national trends in soft drink consumption among youth during 1977/1978 through 1994/1998. Dramatic increases were observed in both the proportion of youth who consumed soft drinks and in the amounts consumed. The prevalence of soft drink consumption increased 48% during the past two decades; the amount of soft drinks consumed increased 123%; and the proportion of total energy intake from soft drinks increased 103%. The most rapidly growing sources of
Applications
Considering the diversity of their professional roles, nutrition professionals may apply this information in several ways:
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Nutrition professionals working with individual children as part of a pediatric practice should assess amounts and types of beverages consumed as an important part of overall dietary assessment. Guidance should focus on encouraging children to consume water, low-fat milk, and 100% fruit juice, and limit sugar-sweetened carbonated beverages. Given that children’s beverage
S. A. French is with the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
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S. A. French is with the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis.
B.-H. Lin is a senior agricultural economist, US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Washington, DC.
J. F. Guthrie is assistant deputy director, Food Assistance and Nutrition Research Program, US Department of Agriculture, Economic Research Service, Washington, DC.