Changes in Sugar Sweetened Beverage Intake Related to Changes in Body Composition in Mexican Adolescents

Abstract

ObjectivesTo examine the relationship between changes in sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) intake and changes in adiposity over a two-year period during adolescence in a Mexico City cohort. MethodsThe analytic sample comprised 511 Mexican adolescents enrolled in a birth cohort study with complete information on sugar sweetened beverage intake and body composition for two time points. In 2015 and 2017, a food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) from the 2006 Mexican National Health and Nutrition Survey was administered to participants ages 9 to 20. Seven variables from the FFQ were summed to use as daily servings of SSBs as a predictor: regular soda, coffee with sugar, tea with sugar, sweetened fruit water, chocolate milk, corn atole, and Yakult (sweetened probiotic milk beverage). Adiposity measurements included body mass index (BMI), body fat % estimated by bioelectrical impedance, and waist circumference, measured by trained research assistants using standard techniques. We used linear regression models with changes in adiposity measures as the continuous outcome and quartiles of change in sugar sweetened beverage intake as the predictor adjusting for age, sex, household socioeconomic status, screen time, and physical activity. ResultsAt baseline (2015), mean age was 14.5 ± 2.1 years with 48% male. The median intake of SSBs was 341 mL/day (IQR = 463 mL) for males and 257 mL/day (IQR = 391 mL) for females. The median SSB intake change over the 2-year period was a 51 mL decrease (IQR = 441 mL) for males and no change (IQR = 360 mL) for females. In adjusted analyses, adolescents with the highest change in SSB intake (Quartile 4,274.3 mL median (IQR = 297.1) increase in SSB intake) had a 0.30 increase kg/m2 in BMI (95% CI –0.15, 0.75), a 1.14% increase in body fat (95% CI –0.02, 2.31), and a 1.64 cm increase in waist circumference (95% CI 0.27, 3.00), compared to those with decreases or no change in SSB intake. ConclusionsIncreased intake of sugar sweetened beverages was associated with higher changes in body fat percentage, waist circumference, and BMI over a two-year period among Mexican adolescents. Funding SourcesThis project was supported by a P01 research grant through the NIH/NIEHS.