Intake of sugar sweetened beverages among children and adolescents in 185 countries between 1990 and 2018: population based study

• Published in: BMJ (Online) 2024-08, Vol.386 (8438), p.e079234
• Main Authors: Miller, Victoria, Zhang, Jianyi, Erndt-Marino, Josh, Cash, Sean B, Ali, Jemal Haidar, Krishnan, Anand, Janakiram, Chandrashekar, Alam, Iftikhar, Memon, Anjum, Rovirosa, Alicia, Oduor, Francis, Marconi, Emanuele, Piccinelli, Raffaela, Thanopoulou, Anastasia, Etemad, Zohreh, Hashemian, Maryam, Tapanainen, Heli, Capanzana, Mario, Otero, Johanna, De Henauw, Stefaan, Rahbar, Ali Reza, Hopping, Beth, Leclercq, Catherine, Haerpfer, Christian, Trichopoulos, Dimitrios, Gauci, Dorothy, Fernando, Dulitha, Vartiainen, Erkki, Zajkas, Gabor, Ma, Guansheng, Sinkko, Harri, Gaspoz, Jean-Michel, Odenkirk, Jillian, Bundhamcharoen, Kanitta, Nelis, Keiu, Zarina, Khairul, Biro, Lajos, Yap, Mabel, Chan, Mei Fen, Cowan, Melanie, Kandiah, Mirnalini, Templeton, Robert, Selamat, Rusidah, Cao, Xia, Gravel, Ron, Tao, Tina, Arici, Mustafa, Pekcan, Gülden, Ekbote, Veena, Kovalskys, Irina, Nimmathota, Arlappa, Laxmaiah, Avula, Bonaccio, Marialaura, Huybrechts, Inge, Maghroun, Maryam, Alissa, Eman, Jeewon, Rajesh, Diba, Tshilenge S, Park, Sihyun, Al-Hooti, Suad, Siengsounthone, Latsamy, Bukhary, Noriklil Bukhary Ismail, Bovet, Pascal, Sawada, Norie, Rangelova, Lalka, Szponar, Lucjan, Sekiyama, Makiko, Le Nguyen Bao, Khanh, Dommarco, Juan Rivera, Sanchez-Romero, Luz Maria, Barquera, Simon, Houshiar-rad, Anahita, Mohammadi-Nasrabadi, Fatemeh, Chuah, Khun-Aik, Ding, Eric L, Tayyem, Reema, Mirmiran, Parvin, Mensink, Gert, Hoffman, Daniel, Kim, Cho-il, Lindroos, Anna Karin, Lemming, Eva Warensjo, Moraeus, Lotta, Dastgiri, Saeed, Vaask, Sirje, Mwaniki, Elizabeth, Anderson, Simon G, Chileshe, Justin, Ochoa, Angelica, Preston, Alan Martin, Sharma, Sangita, Alexy, Ute, Krebs, Nancy F, Thorsdottir, Inga, Gunnarsdottir, Ingibjorg, Moy, Foong Ming, Jimenez, Elizabeth Yakes, Fisberg, Regina, Elmadfa, Ibrahim, Hakeem, Rubina
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Adolescent; Adolescents; Age groups; Beverages; Child; Child, Preschool; Children; Diet; Estimates; Female; Food; Food and Nutrition; Global Health; Humans; Life Sciences; Male; Nutrition research; Obesity; Population; Population studies; Public health; Questionnaires; Regions; Rural Population - statistics & numerical data; Sociodemographics; Sugar; Sugar-Sweetened Beverages - adverse effects; Sugar-Sweetened Beverages - statistics & numerical data; Teenagers; Trends; Young Adult
• ISSN: 1756-1833; 1756-1833
• DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2024-079234

AbstractObjectiveTo quantify global intakes of sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) and trends over time among children and adolescents.DesignPopulation based study.SettingGlobal Dietary Database.PopulationChildren and adolescents aged 3-19 years in 185 countries between 1990 and 2018, jointly stratified at subnational level by age, sex, parental education, and rural or urban residence.ResultsIn 2018, mean global SSB intake was 3.6 (standardized serving=248 g (8 oz)) servings/week (1.3 (95% uncertainly interval 1.0 to 1.9) in south Asia to 9.1 (8.3 to 10.1) in Latin America and the Caribbean). SSB intakes were higher in older versus younger children and adolescents, those resident in urban versus rural areas, and those of parents with higher versus lower education. Between 1990 and 2018, mean global SSB intakes increased by 0.68 servings/week (22.9%), with the largest increases in sub-Saharan Africa (2.17 servings/week; 106%). Of 185 countries included in the analysis, 56 (30.3%) had a mean SSB intake of ≥7 servings/week, representing 238 million children and adolescents, or 10.4% of the global population of young people.ConclusionThis study found that intakes of SSBs among children and adolescents aged 3-19 years in 185 countries increased by 23% from 1990 to 2018, parallel to the rise in prevalence of obesity among this population globally. SSB intakes showed large heterogeneity among children and adolescents worldwide and by age, parental level of education, and urbanicity. This research should help to inform policies to reduce SSB intake among young people, particularly those with larger intakes across all education levels in urban and rural areas in Latin America and the Caribbean, and the growing problem of SSBs for public health in sub-Saharan Africa.