Consumption Of Unhealthy Beverages Research Articles

Motivators of and Barriers to Drinking Healthy Beverages among a Sample of Diverse Adults in Bronx, NY

ABSTRACTBackground: Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with several chronic health conditions. In the United States, government regulations and behavioral health interventions to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and increase the consumption of healthy beverages have shown limited effectiveness. Differences in motivation to engage in health promoting behaviors (e.g., drinking water and other healthy beverages) in association with key demographic variables exist. Purpose: To identify statistically significant differences in the levels of endorsement of these motivators and barriers in association with gender and race/ethnicity. Methods: A culturally diverse sample of adults (N = 639) from Bronx, New York were recruited. Results: The top motivator for females and males was preferences, for non-Hispanic Blacks and Hispanics was medical and health issues, and for non-Hispanic Whites was preferences. The top barrier for females, males, non-Hispanic Blacks, Hispanics, and non-Hispanic Whites was availability. Statistically significant differences in the level of endorsement of these motivators/barriers exist. Discussion: Findings suggest that gender and race-specific differences to engaging in drinking water and other healthy beverages exist. Translation to Health Education Practice: Interventions seeking to decrease the consumption of unhealthy beverages among culturally diverse adults may consider gender and race-specific motivators and barriers associated with this behavior.

The Impact of Social Media Influencers on Children's Dietary Behaviors.

Over the past years vlogs rapidly have become an attractive platform for food industries, sponsoring social media influencers to promote their products. As with more traditional media, social media influencers predominantly promote unhealthy drinks and foods that are high in sugar, fat, and salt – consumption of which may increase the risk of overweight, obesity, and non-communicable diseases. The aim of the current Brief Research Report is to examine the impact of vlogs on children’s unhealthy dietary behaviors. Drawing on longitudinal survey data from 453 8- to 12-year-old children, we analyzed the longitudinal relations between children’s frequency of watching vlogs and their consumption of unhealthy beverages and snacks. Structural path modeling analyses of three waves of data with 1-year intervals showed that children’s self-reported frequency of watching vlogs influenced consumption of unhealthy beverages 2 years later. The analyses did not yield significant relations for Unhealthy Snacks Consumption. The strength of the observed longitudinal relation between children’s Frequency of Watching Vlogs and Consumption of unhealthy beverages was comparable to previous findings regarding more traditional types of food marketing.

Can Parenting Practices Explain the Differences in Beverage Intake According to Socio-Economic Status: The Toybox-Study.

Previous research indicated that preschoolers of lower socioeconomic status (SES) consume less healthy beverages than high SES preschoolers. The purpose of this study is to investigate the mediating role of parenting practices in the relationship between SES and plain water, soft drink and prepacked fruit juice (FJ) consumption in European preschoolers. Parents/caregivers of 3.5 to 5.5 years old (n = 6776) recruited through kindergartens in six European countries within the ToyBox-study completed questionnaires on socio-demographics, parenting practices and a food frequency questionnaire. Availability of sugared beverages and plain water, permissiveness towards sugared beverages and lack of self-efficacy showed a mediating effect on SES-differences in all three beverages. Rewarding with sugared beverages significantly mediated SES-differences for both plain water and prepacked FJ. Encouragement to drink plain water and awareness significantly mediated SES-differences for, respectively, plain water and prepacked FJ consumption. Avoiding negative modelling did not mediate any associations. Overall, lower SES preschoolers were more likely to be confronted with lower levels of favourable and higher levels of unfavourable parenting practices, which may lead to higher sugared beverage and lower plain water consumption. The current study highlights the importance of parenting practices in explaining the relation between SES and both healthy and unhealthy beverage consumption.