National trends in soft drink consumption among children and adolescents age 6 to 17 years: Prevalence, amounts, and sources, 1977/1978 to 1994/1998

doi:10.1016/S0002-8223(03)01076-9

Journal of the American Dietetic Association

Volume 103, Issue 10, October 2003, Pages 1326-1331

https://doi.org/10.1016/S0002-8223(03)01076-9 Get rights and content

Abstract

Objectives

Trends between 1977/1978 and 1994/1998 in the prevalence, amounts, and sources of soft drink consumption were examined among youth age 6 to 17 years.

Design

Dietary intake data were examined from three national surveys: the Nationwide Food Consumption Survey 1977/1978 (n=8,908), and the combined Continuing Survey of Food Intakes by Individuals 1994/1996, and the Supplemental Children’s Survey 1998 (n=3,177). Soft drinks were defined as carbonated beverages (all United States Department of Agriculture database codes starting with 924) and included flavored waters and juice drinks.

Subjects/Setting

A national sample of youth ages 6 to 17 years were interviewed for each of the 3 surveys.

Statistical analysis

t tests were conducted to examine between-survey changes in soft drink consumption and sources of soft drinks.

Results

The prevalence of soft drink consumption among youth ages 6 to 17 years increased 48%, from a prevalence of 37% in 1977/1978 to 56% in 1994/1998. Mean intake of soft drinks more than doubled, from 5 fl oz to 12 fl oz per day. Although the home environment remained the largest source of children’s soft drink access, an increasing share was obtained from restaurants and fast-food establishments (+53%), vending machines (+48%), and other sources (+37%).

Conclusions

Away-from-home sources of soft drink are an important factor for dietitians to consider when evaluating the dietary intake and nutritional status of youths.

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.

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ResearchNational trends in soft drink consumption among children and adolescents age 6 to 17 years: Prevalence, amounts, and sources, 1977/1978 to 1994/1998

Abstract

Objectives

Design

Subjects/Setting

Statistical analysis

Results

Conclusions

Section snippets

Subjects and procedures

Trends in of soft drink consumption

Discussion

Applications

J Am Diet Assoc

J Am Diet Assoc

J Am Diet Assoc

Lancet

Physiol Behav

J Am Diet Assoc

J Nutr

J Am Diet Assoc

Nutrition and Your HealthDietary Guidelines for Americans

Prevalence and trends in overweight among US children and adolescents, 1999–2000

JAMA

Quality of children’s diets at and away from home1994–1996

Food Rev

Youths at nutritional riskMalnourished or misnourished?

What we eatUSDA surveys food consumption changes

Commun Nutr Inst

Changes in children’s total fat intakes and their food group sources of fat, 1989–91 versus 1994–95Implications for diet quality

Fam Econ Nutr Rev

Trends in energy intake in US between 1977 and 1996Similar shifts seen across age groups

Obes Res

Patterns and trends in food portion sizes, 1977–1998

JAMA

Energy and fat intakes of children and adolescents in the United StatesData from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Surveys

Am J Clin Nutr

Diets of individuals based on energy intakes from added sugars

Fam Econ Nutr Rev

Research
National trends in soft drink consumption among children and adolescents age 6 to 17 years: Prevalence, amounts, and sources, 1977/1978 to 1994/1998