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Objective This study aimed to provide the most recent national estimates for beverage consumption among children and adults in the United States. Methods Dietary data were collected from 18,600 children aged 2 to 19 years and from 27,652 adults aged ≥ 20 years in the 2003 to 2014 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey. Total beverage and sugar‐sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption was measured by 24‐hour dietary recall. Results From 2003 to 2014, per capita consumption of all beverages declined significantly among children (473.8‐312.6 calories; P < 0.001) and adults (425.0‐341.1 calories; P < 0.001). In the 2013‐2014 survey, 60.7% of children and 50.0% of adults drank SSBs on a given day, which is significantly lower than 2003‐2004, when 79.7% of children and 61.5% of adults reported drinking SSBs. From 2003 to 2014, per capita consumption of SSBs declined from 224.6 calories to 132.5 calories (P < 0.001) for children and from 190.4 calories to 137.6 calories (P < 0.001) for adults. The absolute levels for the percentage of SSB drinkers and per capita consumption of SSBs were highest among black, Mexican American, and non‐Mexican Hispanic children, adolescents, and young adults for all years of the study. Conclusions Overall, beverage and SSB consumption declined for children and adults from 2003 to 2014. The levels of consumption are highest among black, Mexican American, and non‐Mexican Hispanic participants.

While sugar sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption has declined in the last 15 years, consumption of SSBs is still high among children and adolescents. This research synthesis updates a prior review on this topic and examines the evidence regarding the various health impacts of SSBs on children’s health (overweight/obesity, insulin resistance, dental caries, and caffeine-related effects). We searched PubMed, CAB Abstracts and PAIS International to identify cross-sectional, longitudinal and intervention studies examining the health impacts of SSBs in children published after January 1, 2007. We also searched reference lists of relevant articles. Overall, most studies found consistent evidence for the negative impact of SSBs on children’s health, with the strongest support for overweight/obesity risk and dental caries, and emerging evidence for insulin resistance and caffeine-related effects. The majority of evidence was cross-sectional highlighting the need for more longitudinal and intervention studies to address this research question. There is substantial evidence that SSBs increase the risk of overweight/obesity and dental caries and developing evidence for the negative impact of SSBs on insulin resistance and caffeine-related effects. The vast majority of literature supports the idea that a reduction in SSB consumption would improve children’s health.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (10.1186/s40608-017-0178-9) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Background Evidence on the effects of restaurant calorie labeling on consumer and restaurant behavior is mixed. This paper examined: 1) consumer responses to calorie information alone or compared to modified calorie information, and 2) changes in restaurant offerings following or in advance of menu labeling implementation. Methods We searched PubMed, Web of Science, Policy File and PAIS International to identify restaurant calorie labeling studies through October 1, 2016, that measured calories ordered, consumed, or available for purchase on restaurant menus. We also searched reference lists of calorie labeling articles. Results Fifty-three studies were included: 18 in real-world restaurants, 9 in cafeterias, and 21 in laboratory or simulation settings. Five examined restaurant offerings. Conclusion Due to a lack of well-powered studies with strong designs, the degree to which menu labeling encourages lower calorie purchases and whether that translates to a healthier population is unclear. Although there is limited evidence that menu labeling affects calories purchased at fast-food restaurants, some evidence demonstrates that it lowers calories purchased at certain types of restaurants and in cafeteria settings. The limited data on modified calorie labels find that such labels can encourage lower-calorie purchases, but may not differ in effects relative to calorie labels alone.