Knowledge of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage-Related Health Conditions and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake among US Hispanic Adults

Abstract

We examined associations between knowledge of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs)-related health conditions and SSB intake among Hispanic adults. This cross-sectional study used the 2015 Estilos data involving 1,000 Hispanic adults (≥18 years) from an online panel survey. The outcome measure was frequency of SSB intake (regular soda, fruit drink, sports/energy drink, sweetened coffee/tea drink). Exposure measures were knowledge of six SSB-related health conditions: weight gain, diabetes, cavities, high cholesterol, heart disease, and hypertension. Six multinomial logistic regression models were used to estimate adjusted odds ratios (AOR) for consuming SSBs ≥3 times/day based on knowledge of SSB-related health conditions using <1 time/day as the reference category. Overall, 36% of Hispanic adults consumed SSBs ≥3 times/day. Although most identified that weight gain (75%) and diabetes (76%) are related to drinking SSBs, only half identified that cavities (57%) and hypertension (41%) are related to drinking SSBs. Even fewer adults identified high cholesterol (32%) and heart disease (32%) as related to drinking SSBs. In crude analyses, lower SSB intake was associated with knowledge of the relationships between SSBs and weight gain, cavities, and heart disease (p<0.05, χ2 test); however, after adjusting for age, sex, education, marital status, income, weight status, region, country of origin, and acculturation, these associations were no longer significant. Most Hispanic adults knew that SSB intake was related to weight gain and diabetes, but knowledge was limited for other health conditions. Knowledge of SSB-related health conditions alone may not be related to reported SSB intake, and therefore insufficient for Hispanic adult behavior change.