Readiness to change sugar sweetened beverage intake among college students

The prevalence of obesity is a topic of concern in the United States, especially among children and young adults, and there is also a growing concern that sugared beverage consumption may contribute to increasing obesity rates. However, few studies to date have examined sugar sweetened beverage consumption trends in college students. This study investigated self-reported sugared beverage consumption, nutritional knowledge, and readiness to change sugar sweetened beverage intake in college students (N=201; 33% minority). On average, non-overweight students reported significantly greater intake of sugared beverages than overweight students, and minority students reported greater consumption than Caucasians. A substantial majority of the sample (69%) reported that they had recently reduced their intake or were maintaining a reduction in intake. However, even those students indicating reduction in consumption reported intake of at least one sugar sweetened beverage daily. This suggests that high calorie beverage intake is a significant concern among young adult college-aged populations and that interventions targeting excess sugar sweetened beverage intake may have a role in obesity prevention efforts for this population.