Problem Behavior, Victimization, and Soda Intake in High School Students

Abstract

Objective-To examine associations of problem behaviors and victimization with nondiet soda intake among a national sample of 16,188 US high school students.Methods-We used the 2009 national Youth Risk Behavior Survey. The outcome measure was daily nondiet soda intake.Results-Smoking, having any sex partners, not always wearing a seat belt, being bullied/ threatened/injured on school property, and being physically hurt by their boyfriend/girlfriend were significantly associated with daily nondiet soda intake after adjustment for age, sex, race/ethnicity, and weight status.Conclusions-Our findings suggest a need to examine why nondiet soda intake is associated with these behaviors to understand potential mechanisms. Keywordssoda; adolescents; problem behaviors; being victimized; YRBS Detrimental behaviors or being victimized might be associated with soda intake because evidence suggests that for children, sweet taste has analgesic properties, 1 and the stronger their sweet preference, the greater its analgesic effect on them. 2 Moreover, palatable foods (ie, foods high in sugar or fat) and addictive drugs stimulate some of the same neural systems in the brain (eg, the reward pathway) that process behavior reinforcement (eg, dopamine and opioids). [3][4][5] For example, a study reported that youth with a family history of alcoholism and positive depressive symptoms preferred sweeter solutions. 6 One experimental study reported that smokers had significantly higher liking of sweets than did never smokers. 7 Although it is speculative, it is also plausible that unhealthy behaviors (eg, substance use) could be associated with other secondary unhealthy dietary behaviors such as Correspondence: Dr Park; spark3@cdc.gov. Human Subjects StatementStudent participation in the survey was anonymous and voluntary, and local parental permission procedures were followed. The CDC's institutional review board granted approval for the national YRBS. Conflict of Interest StatementThe authors declare that there are no conflicts of interest.Abstract was presented at the Obesity Society Conference in 2011. HHS Public Access Author Manuscript Author ManuscriptAuthor Manuscript Author Manuscript high sugar intake through the consumption of calorically sweetened beverages. Calorically sweetened beverages include, but are not limited to, soft drinks (soda or pop), fruit drinks, sports drinks, energy drinks, tea and coffee drinks, sweetened milk, and any other beverages to which sugars have been added. 8 Previous studies that investigated the association between calorically sweetened beverages and problem behaviors, however, had inconsistent findings. 9,10 For instance, Miller reported that problem behaviors and substance use (eg, sexual risk taking, fighting, seat-belt omission, marijuana use, smoking, and alcohol use) were associated with increased frequency of energy drink intake among college students. 9 Another cross-sectional study with a relatively small convenience sample of 145 US adolescents attending alternative high scho...

Clustering patterns of oral and general health‐risk behaviours in Brazilian adolescents: Findings from a national survey

“…Previous studies employing various techniques of data analysis have also shown a similar pattern of clustering for insufficient physical activity and low fruit intake (as part of an unhealthy diet) in adolescents, 11,14,[32][33][34][35] thus characterizing a sedentary lifestyle. As for the first cluster, equivalent findings have been reported, especially concerning the co-occurrence of smoking and drug use, 13 smoking and high sugar intake, 36,37 and less frequent oral and general hygiene practices. 37,38 A study restricted to Saudi Arabian male adolescents has found through HACA In relation to the aforementioned clustering of high sugar intake behaviours and illegal drug use, it is noteworthy that a study identified the neural activity linked to food addiction.…”

“…Previous studies employing various techniques of data analysis have also shown a similar pattern of clustering for insufficient physical activity and low fruit intake (as part of an unhealthy diet) in adolescents, thus characterizing a sedentary lifestyle. As for the first cluster, equivalent findings have been reported, especially concerning the co‐occurrence of smoking and drug use, smoking and high sugar intake, and less frequent oral and general hygiene practices …”

School District Policies and Adolescents' Soda Consumption

“…)” Response options included, “I did not drink soda or pop during the past 7 days”, “1–3 times during the past 7 days”, “4–6 times during the past 7 days”, “1 time per day”, “2 times per day”, “3 times per day”, and “4 or more times per day”. For this analysis, a dichotomous response category was created: <1 versus ≥1 time/day to identify frequent regular soda consumers (i.e., daily intake of regular soda) [8,10]. …”

“…Frequent (e.g., daily) consumption of SSBs is related to adverse health consequences including but not limited to weight gain/obesity [3], cardiovascular health [4], dental caries [5], asthma [6], poor diet quality [7], and poor academic achievement [8] among children and adolescents. Additionally, daily SSB intake is significantly associated with insulin resistance in adolescents [9], and daily intake of regular soda is significantly associated with problem behaviors and victimization among US high school students [10]. …”

Adolescents at Risk

“…Yet in the latter study the link between energy drink consumption and the substance use outcomes was stronger than for the regular soft drinks. Smoking, being bullied/threatened/injured on school property, and other risk behaviours were significantly associated with daily non-diet soda intake (Park, Blanck, Sherry & Foti, 2013).…”