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
Randomized Controlled Trial
. 2021 Dec;45(6):599-607.
doi: 10.1111/1753-6405.13159. Epub 2021 Nov 11.

A trial of a six-month sugar-sweetened beverage intervention in secondary schools from a socio-economically disadvantaged region in Australia

Jia Ying Ooi  1   2 , Luke Wolfenden  1   2 , Sze Lin Yoong  1   2 , Lisa M Janssen  1 , Kathryn Reilly  2   3 , Nicole Nathan  1   2 , Rachel Sutherland  1   2
Affiliations
Free article
Randomized Controlled Trial

A trial of a six-month sugar-sweetened beverage intervention in secondary schools from a socio-economically disadvantaged region in Australia

Jia Ying Ooi et al. Aust N Z J Public Health. 2021 Dec.
Free article

Abstract

Objective: This study assessed the effectiveness of a school-based intervention in reducing adolescents' sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption and percentage of energy from SSBs. Secondary outcomes were SSB consumption within school, average daily energy intake, and body mass index z-scores.

Methods: Six secondary schools located in New South Wales, Australia were recruited to participate in a six-month pilot randomised controlled trial (1:1). The intervention included components targeting the school nutrition environment, curricula and community. Outcomes were collected via online surveys, observations, anthropometric measurements and project records. Between-group differences were assessed via linear mixed models.

Results: At the six-month intervention endpoint (n=862) there were no statistically significant differences between students in intervention or control schools for mean daily intake of SSBs (8.55mL; CI -26.77, 43.87; p=0.63), percentage daily energy from SSBs (0.12% kJ; CI -0.55, 0.80; p=0.72), or for secondary outcomes. Acceptability of the school-based strategies were high, however intervention fidelity varied across schools.

Conclusion: While acceptable, improving fidelity of implementation and increasing the duration or intensity of the intervention may be required to reduce SSB intake. Implications for public health: Engaging parents and education stakeholders in the development phase to co-design interventions may prove beneficial in improving intervention fidelity and enhance behavioural outcomes.

Keywords: adolescent health; behaviour change; childhood obesity; nutrition; schools.

PubMed Disclaimer

References

    1. World Health Organization. New global Estimates of Child and adolescent Obesity Released on World Obesity Day. Geneva (CHE): WHO; 2017.
    1. Australian Bureau of Statistics. 4364.0.55.001 - National Health Survey: First Results, 2017-18. Canberra (AUST): ABS; 2018.
    1. Reilly JJ, Kelly J. Long-term impact of overweight and obesity in childhood and adolescence on morbidity and premature mortality in adulthood: Systematic review. Int J Obes. 2011;35(7):891.
    1. World Health Organization. Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health: Childhood Overweight and Obesity: Geneva (CHE): WHO; 2016.
    1. World Health Organization. Global Strategy on Diet, Physical Activity and Health: What are the Causes? Geneva (CHE): WHO; 2016.

Publication types

LinkOut - more resources