Background: Observationally, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is associated with adiposity in Western children but could be confounded. We examined the association of SSB frequency with adiposity in the non-Western setting of Hong Kong. Methods: We examined the associations of SSB consumption frequency at 11 and 13 years assessed by using a food frequency questionnaire with subsequent body mass index (BMI) z-score and overweight/obesity up to 18 years using generalized estimating equations, and with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, and body fat percentage at 16-19 years using linear regression in a population-representative Chinese birth cohort "Children of 1997" (n = 3628). Results: At 11 and 13 years, 6.8% and 8.2% of children respectively consumed SSB daily. Neither SSB frequency at 11 nor at 13 years was associated with subsequent BMI z-score or overweight/obesity up to 18 years, or with waist circumference, waist-to-hip ratio, or body fat percentage at 16-19 years adjusted for age, sex, socioeconomic position, health status, physical activity and other food consumption, although bias to the null from under-reporting cannot be eliminated. Conclusion: Although we cannot definitively exclude a small association of SSB frequency with adiposity, lack of association of SSB frequency with adiposity in a non-Western setting with low SSB consumption suggests that the role of SSB in adiposity appears to be minor.Nutrients 2020, 12, 1015 2 of 13 unreliable [8]. A few randomized controlled trials (RCT) have been conducted in children [9,10], which suggested reducing SSB intake reduces weight. However, meta-analyses of RCTs have revealed mixed findings. One meta-analysis showed no overall effect of SSB intake on weight in children, possibly due to low compliance in some included trials [6]. This meta-analysis also found weight decrease for reduced sugars intake and weight increase for increased sugars intake in trials of adults with ad libitum diets [6]. However, some others showed small effects of SSB intake on weight or BMI, which may be more marked for increasing consumption of SSB on weight gain and among the overweight [5,11,12]. As a beverage containing naturally occurring sugars, 100% fruit juice was not associated with weight gain in children aged 7 to 18 years in a meta-analysis of observational studies [13], but no RCT to date has tested the effect of 100% fruit juice on adiposity in children.Given the inconclusive evidence concerning the effect of SSB on adiposity, assessing the association in settings with different confounding patterns can be helpful [14]. Unlike in Western developed settings, obesity is less clearly socially patterned in Hong Kong Chinese children [15,16]. Chinese children also consume fewer SSBs than those in Western developed countries [17]. SSB consumption in Chinese children may have different socioeconomic patterns than in Western settings, where children of lower SEP tend to consume more SSB [18]. Here, we examined the association of SSB frequency at 11 and 13 years ...