Yearly Trend of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake and Nutritional Status in Korean Elementary School Children Using the 2007~2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey

Abstract

This study examined yearly trend of sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake and compared nutritional status by SSB intake levels in elementary school children aged 6∼11 years (n=5,123) using the 2007∼2015 Korea National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (KNHANES). The SSB included in the study was carbonated drinks, sports drinks, and caffeinated drinks containing added sugars. Subjects were classified into three groups by SSB intake level obtained using the 24-hour recall method: SSB 1 (SSB intake 0 g/d), SSB 2 (0 g/d< SSB intake< 50th percentile) and SSB 3 (SSB intake≥ 50th percentile). The daily intake of total beverages in all subjects increased significantly, 2.2 times from 50.3±6.6 g/d in 2007 to 111.7±12.8 g/d in 2015 (P<0.0001). The daily intake of fruit/vegetable juices (P=0.0021), carbonated drinks (P=0.0002), caffeinated drinks (P=0.0005), and traditional drinks (P=0.0004) in all subjects significantly increased year on year. The daily intake of total beverages was higher in males at 79.4±3.7 g/d compared to 68.1±3.9 g/d for females. The daily intake of energy and iron and the ratio of energy from fat increased, but the daily intake of calcium, vitamin A, and vitamin C decreased toward the SSB 3 group (P<0.05). The ratio of excess intake of energy/fat increased significantly for males (P=0.0031) and females (P=0.0019) toward the SSB 3 group. The ratio of the excess intake of sodium increased toward the SSB 3 group for males (P=0.0333) and females. Efforts should be made to reduce the SSB intake in order to prevent inappropriate nutritional status among elementary school children.