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Ten-year beverage intake trends among US preschool children: rapid declines between 2003 and 2010 but stagnancy in
C N Ford1, S W Ng1, B M Popkin1
1Department of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Insights
US preschool children reduced their beverage intake significantly, particularly sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) and juice drinks, between 2003 and 2010. This dietary improvement was largely driven by reduced consumption from stores.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Dietary Intake Analysis
- Public Health
Background:
- Previous research indicated a decline in overall energy intake among US preschool children from 2003-2004 to 2009-2010.
- Limited data exists on beverage intake trends for US preschoolers (ages 2-5) during the 2003-2004 to 2011-2012 period.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze changes in the consumption of key beverages among US preschoolers between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012.
- To investigate the influence of eating location (home vs. away) and beverage source (store vs. others) on these intake changes.
Main Methods:
- Utilized cross-sectional dietary data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) for children aged 2-5 years across multiple survey cycles (2003-2012).
- Calculated survey-weighted mean intakes for various beverage categories, including sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), milks, and 100% juice.
- Employed two-tailed z-tests with Bonferroni corrections to compare mean intakes, with a significance level of α < 0.05.
Main Results:
- Total caloric intake in 2-5 year olds decreased by 132 kcal/day, with beverage calories dropping by 55 kcal/day between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012.
- Significant reductions were observed in SSBs (-57 kcal/day), juice drinks (-37 kcal/day), caloric soft drinks (-13 kcal/day), and low-sugar milk (-42 kcal/day).
- Beverage intake from stores decreased by 106 kcal/day, and intake at home fell by 73 kcal/day, with most changes occurring by 2009-2010.
Conclusions:
- Dietary patterns among US preschoolers showed improvement between 2003-2004 and 2009-2010.
- Reduced consumption of beverages from stores was a significant factor contributing to these dietary improvements.
Background:
It has been previously reported that total energy intake among US preschool children (ages 2-5 years) decreased between 2003-2004 and 2009-2010. However, little is known about how intakes of beverages among US preschoolers (ages 2-5 years) changed from 2003-2004 to 2011-2012.
Objectives:
This paper examines changes in intakes of key beverages during this period, as well as how eating location (at home or away from home) and source (store vs. others) may have contributed to these changes.
Methods:
Cross-sectional day one dietary data among children ages 2-5 years from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey 2003-2004, 2005-2006, 2007-2008, 2009-2010 and 2011-2012 were used. Survey-weighted mean intakes by survey year, eating location and source were computed for total sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), milks, 100% juice, low/no-calorie beverages, 10 key beverages, total beverages and total foods. Means were compared using two-tailed z-tests with Bonferroni corrections (α < 0.05).
Results:
Between 2003-2004 and 2011-2012, among 2-5 year olds, total caloric intake fell by 132 kcal d(-1) , with intakes of beverages falling by 55 kcal d(-1) . Decreases in intakes of total SSBs (-57 kcal d(-1) ), fruit-flavoured or juice drinks containing <100% juice (juice drinks) (-37 kcal d(-1) ), caloric soft drinks (-13 kcal d(-1) ) and >1% fat, low-sugar milk (-42 kcal d(-1) ) were among the major changes. By eating location, total beverage intake at home fell by 73 kcal d(-1) . By source, total beverage intake from stores fell by 106 kcal d(-1) . Changes in intakes occurred primarily between 2003-2004 and 2009-2010, as there were no significant differences in beverage intakes between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012. Intakes of total calories (+49 kcal d(-1) ) and calories from foods (+53 kcal d(-1) ) trended upward between 2009-2010 and 2011-2012, but changes were not significant.
Conclusions:
These findings suggest improvements in the diets of preschoolers between 2003-2004 and 2009-2010, of which stores were a major contributor.
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