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 three 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 three school semesters, from 2009–2011. A total of 1,313 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 (i.e., they [a] consumed little, had negative attitudes, and did not keep SSBs in the home, or [b] 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.

The role of the home environment in sugar-sweetened beverage intake among northern Mexican adolescents: a qualitative study

“…Within the home environment, factors such as the availability and accessibility of SSBs, family meals, parental modelling, parenting practices and family food rules have been positively correlated with the intake of SSBs among children and adolescents living in developed countries (Grimm et al 2004;van der Horst et al 2007;Bere et al 2008;Haerens et al 2008;Ezendam et al 2010;Verzeletti et al 2010;Tak et al 2011;Hebden et al Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0993-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users. Van Lippevelde et al 2013;Bogart et al 2017). These findings provide an important insight into the factors that influence SSB intake at home in developed countries, mostly in Europe.…”

“…Previous research on adolescents' proximal context, such as family, school and peers, has suggested a positive association between the home and school environments and SSB intake (van der Horst et al 2008;Ezendam et al 2010;Shi 2010;Tak et al 2011;Bogart et al 2017). Within the home environment, factors such as the availability and accessibility of SSBs, family meals, parental modelling, parenting practices and family food rules have been positively correlated with the intake of SSBs among children and adolescents living in developed countries (Grimm et al 2004;van der Horst et al 2007;Bere et al 2008;Haerens et al 2008;Ezendam et al 2010;Verzeletti et al 2010;Tak et al 2011;Hebden et al Electronic supplementary material The online version of this article (https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0993-6) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.…”

Exploring perceptions of the Mexican sugar-sweetened beverage tax among adolescents in north-west Mexico: a qualitative study

“…All these factors should be considered by policy-makers investigating ways to increase the effectiveness of the SSB tax in Mexico. Despite not having been discussed with participants in this sample, factors such as heavy marketing and publicity regulations (43,44) , parental and peer modelling (40,45) , leisure activities (46) , the environment (i.e. proximity to shops, home availability) (47) and scarcity of potable water in schools (48) and public spaces (49) might influence beverage choices among young people, and could therefore also influence adolescents' perceptions and acceptance of SSB taxation.…”

Associations of Parental General Monitoring with Adolescent Weight‐Related Behaviors and Weight Status

“…Parental influences shape children’s eating behaviors from early in childhood through the availability and accessibility of food in the home and by restriction and promotion of certain foods and amounts . Parents are considered to be the gatekeepers of food up until early adolescence and continue to have responsibility for feeding , although adolescents increasingly make independent DI choices .…”

“…Despite the large literature on the positive effects of PGM, little attention has been paid to its associations with adolescent weight‐related behaviors and weight status. We are aware of only three studies, but these show mixed findings: one study found that having no curfew, an indication of less monitoring, was associated with a higher likelihood of retaining obesity from adolescence into young adulthood ; a second study showed no association between parental monitoring of adolescent activities and adolescent obesity ; and a third study reported that monitoring was associated specifically with lower consumption of sugar‐sweetened beverages , a commonly targeted DI behavior when attempting to reduce obesity. The current study attempts to enhance understanding of whether and how PGM plays a role in adolescent weight status by examining its relationship with weight‐related healthy behaviors, such as healthy DI and PA, and unhealthy behaviors, such as unhealthy DI and screen time.…”