Beverage Consumption among Advantest Adolescents in the Teen FAD Study
Authors: Nezami Manijeh , Sabate Joan , Beeson Larry , Segovia‐Siapco Gina 
Published: November 2023

BACKGROUND

Beverages play an important role in providing essential nutrients. Sugar sweetened beverages (SSB) are considered the biggest contributor to obesity in children and adults. Despite some guidelines for beverage consumption to date, no tool exists for evaluating overall beverage intake quality among adolescents.

OBJECTIVE

To describe the amount and quality of beverage consumption in an adolescent population known to have a healthy lifestyle.

METHODS

Participants were composed of 231 male and 305 female adolescents’ ages 12–18 years. Beverage intake data were collected using a web‐based semi‐quantitative food frequency questionnaire that includes 24 (18 non‐dairy and 6 dairy) beverages. A healthy beverage index (HBI) using a scoring algorithm (from 0–100) based on recommendations for total beverage intake set by the Dietary Reference Intakes for beverage subgroups in the adolescent population was developed to determine beverage intake quality. Beverages were broken down into seven categories: 1) dairy milk, 2) milk substitutes (includes flavored soy, homemade soy, rice and almond milk) 3) SSB (sugar sweetened beverages including soda, juice drinks, sports drinks, sweet/iced tea), 4) 100% fruit juice, 5) diet drinks (diet soda and unsweetened tea), 6) other caffeinated drinks (coffee, tea) and 7) water.

RESULTS

Boys have significantly higher (mean ± SD) fluid intake than girls for total amount (1561.9 ± 645.9 vs. 1297.8 ± 565.0 ml/day, p<0.0001) and energy from beverages (301.29 ± 226.4 vs. 224.4 ± 179.5 kcal, p<0.0001). Overall intake (mean ± SD) in servings per day for each beverage group are as follows: water (3.22 ± 1.67), SSB (0.72 ± 0.89), milk (0.62 ± 0.99), milk substitutes (0.50 ± 0.94), 100% fruit juice (0.47± 0.69), diet beverages (0.07± 0.25), and other caffeinated beverages (0.17± 0.43). Older adolescents have lower milk (p=0.053) but higher caffeinated beverage (p<0.001) intake than younger adolescents. African‐Americans and West Indians drink significantly more SSB compared to other ethnic groups (p=0.032). Adolescents whose mothers have a higher educational level have significantly lower intakes SSB (p=.046) but higher intake of milk (p=.034) and milk substitutes (p=.021). Boys drink significantly more of each beverage than girls except caffeinated beverages. HBI scores ranged from 24.5 to 95.0 with a mean of 65.8 (SD=13.2). Girls showed significantly higher (mean ± SD) scores compared to boys (67.1 ± 13.4 vs. 64.1% ± 12.84, p=. 011). Age also showed a significant difference for HBI scores where the younger participants showed higher HBI scores compared to older participants (69.07±12.08 vs 65.35 ± 13.22, p=.004).

CONCLUSIONS

Our findings are consistent with similar studies evaluating beverage patterns in adolescents and shows important information about the pattern of beverage intake in an adolescent population comprising ~20% vegetarians. HBI for adolescents can be a valuable tool to evaluate overall beverage quality in adolescents. More research is needed to validate the benefits associated with HBI score.

Support or Funding Information

The original research was funded by white Wave Foods, No funding was received for this study