Home Sweet Home: Parent and Home Environmental Factors in Adolescent Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages.

ABSTRACT

OBJECTIVE: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are key contributors to obesity among youth. We investigated associations among parental and home-related factors (parental attitudes and consumption; home availability) regarding 3 types of SSBs-soda, sports drinks, and fruit-flavored drinks-with consumption of each type of SSB in a general school-based sample of adolescents. METHODS: Data were collected across 3 school semesters, from 2009 to 2011. A total of 1313 seventh grade student-parent dyads participated. Students completed in-class surveys across 9 schools in a large Los Angeles school district; their parents completed telephone interviews. Youth were asked about their SSB consumption (soda, sports drinks, and fruit-flavored drinks), and parents were asked about their attitudes, consumption, and home availability of SSBs. RESULTS: We estimated expected rates of youth SSB consumption for hypothetical parents at very low (5th) and very high (95th) percentiles for home/parental risk factors (ie, they consumed little, had negative attitudes, and did not keep SSBs in the home; or they consumed a lot, had positive attitudes, and did keep SSBs in the home). Youth of lower-risk parents (at the 5th percentile) were estimated to drink substantially less of each type of beverage than did youth of higher-risk parents (at the 95th percentile). For example, youth with higher-risk parents averaged nearly double the SSB consumption of youth of lower-risk parents (2.77 vs 1.37 glasses on the previous day; overall model significance F22,1312 = 3.91, P < .001). CONCLUSIONS: Results suggest a need to focus on parental and home environmental factors when intervening to reduce youths' SSB consumption.