Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
. 2019 Jan 3:6:1.
doi: 10.1186/s40608-018-0224-2. eCollection 2019.

Who drinks sugar sweetened beverages and juice? An Australian population study of behaviour, awareness and attitudes

Caroline Miller  1   2 , Melanie Wakefield  3 , Annette Braunack-Mayer  1   4 , David Roder  5 , Kerin O'Dea  5 , Kerry Ettridge  2 , Joanne Dono  2
Affiliations

Who drinks sugar sweetened beverages and juice? An Australian population study of behaviour, awareness and attitudes

Caroline Miller et al. BMC Obes. .

Abstract

Background: The rate of overweight and obesity in Australia is among the highest in the world. Yet Australia lags other countries in developing comprehensive educative or regulatory responses to address sugary drink consumption, a key modifiable risk factor that contributes substantial excess sugar to the diet. Measurement of sugary drink consumption is typically sporadic and nutrition focussed and there is limited knowledge of community perceptions and awareness of the health risks associated with excess sugary drink consumption. The aim of this study was to assess the demographic characteristics, behavioural risk factors and attitudes and knowledge associated with sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and 100% fruit juice consumption.

Methods: A face-to-face household survey was conducted in 2014 using a stratified random sampling strategy to represent the South Australian population aged 15 years and over. The survey contained questions on sugary drinks, with past week SSB consumption and 100% fruit juice consumption used as outcome variables. Associations were examined with demographic characteristics, behavioural risk factors, and sugary drink attitudes and knowledge.

Results: Of the 2732 respondents, 35% had consumed SSBs 1-6 times (moderate consumers) and 16% had consumed SSBs 7 or more times (frequent consumers) in the past week. Furthermore, 35% had consumed 100% fruit juice in the past week, with 10% consuming every day. Rates of SSB consumption were consistently higher among males, younger age groups, and groups with lower education attainment, as well as smokers and frequent consumers of fast food. Awareness of health risks and sugar content of SSBs was low, especially among frequent SSB consumers. Fruit juice consumption was higher among males, younger age groups, the physically active and among those believing that 100% fruit juice did not contain more sugar than SSBs.

Conclusions: Consumption of SSBs and 100% fruit juice is common but awareness of health risks and sugar content of these drinks is low. There is a need for greater consumer understanding which could be achieved through educative approaches such as public education campaigns, on-package warning labels and improved nutrition information panels.

Keywords: 100% fruit juice; Attitudes; Awareness; Knowledge; Population survey; Risk factors; Sugar-sweetened beverages.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

The University of Adelaide Human Research Ethics Committee approved all aspects of this study, including the verbal informed consent procedure. As the interview was conducted face-to-face by trained interviewers, informed consent was obtained using a verbal agreement to participate in the study 2 weeks after receiving an introductory letter which explained that participation was voluntary and results would be anonymous. Explicit verbal consent to interview participants aged 15 to 17 years was obtained from parents/guardians.Not applicable.The authors declare that they have no competing interests.Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

References

    1. World Health Organization . Guideline: sugars intake for adult and children. Geneva: WHO; 2015. - PubMed
    1. Malik VS, Pan A, Willett WC, Hu FB. Sugar-sweetened beverages and weight gain in children and adults: a systematic review and meta-analysis. Am J Clin Nutr. 2013;98(4):1084–1102. doi: 10.3945/ajcn.113.058362. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Malik VS, Popkin BM, Bray GA, Despres JP, Hu FB. Sugar-sweetened beverages, obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, and cardiovascular disease risk. Circulation. 2010;121(11):1356–1364. doi: 10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.109.876185. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Bernabe E, Vehkalahti MM, Sheiham A, Aromaa A, Suominen AL. Sugar-sweetened beverages and dental caries in adults: a 4-year prospective study. J Dent. 2014;42(8):952–958. doi: 10.1016/j.jdent.2014.04.011. - DOI - PubMed
    1. Keller A, Heitmann BL, Olsen N. Sugar-sweetened beverages, vascular risk factors and events: a systematic literature review. Public Health Nutr. 2015;18(7):1145–1154. doi: 10.1017/S1368980014002122. - DOI - PMC - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources