If you’re worried about the nutrition your college-age child is getting while they’re away, the results of a new study may help alleviate your concerns — as long as the measures get implemented on campus.
Warning labels placed on sugar-filled beverages have led to college students reporting reduced consumption, according to the findings of a study conducted by the University of Michigan School of Public Health and UC Davis.
A press release stated the reported 14.5% drink consumption reduction indicates that such labels could decrease sugar intake in larger settings.
“Sugar-sweetened beverages are a major driver of chronic disease. Health warning labels may reduce the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, but the effectiveness of such labels in real-world settings is only beginning to be established,” said Jennifer Falbe, assistant professor of Nutrition and Human Development at UC Davis, who is a senior author of the study and designed the warning label used. “This experiment takes the evidence a step further by looking at young adult behavior in a setting that they frequent each day.”
For the study, which was conducted one semester in 2019 and published in the Journal of Nutrition last month, researchers posted bright yellow warning stickers on beverage dispensers at a University of Michigan cafeteria. The labels included an exclamation point inside a white triangle and looked much like those used in tobacco control efforts.
“Warning: Drinking beverages with added sugar(s) contributes to type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and tooth decay,” the label read.
Control sites were established at two other cafeterias on campus, which were far away from the cafeteria with the warning labels. The control sites displayed no warning labels.
Before and after the warning labels were posted, almost 1,000 students were emailed asking to participate in surveys with no explicit mention of sugar-sweetened beverages. Following the completion of the survey, participants were given a $10 gift card.
Students reduced consumption of sugar-sweetened drinks by 18.5% at the intervention site compared to a 4.7% decrease in consumption at the control sites. Additionally, student consumption of 100% juice drinks was down by 21% at the warning label cafeteria, despite juices not being labeled as sugar-sweetened drinks.
“The results of this study indicate that warning labels may be effective tools for reducing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, particularly beverages such as sweetened teas, pink lemonade and chocolate milk for which the sugar content is not immediately obvious or well known,” said Cindy Leung, assistant professor of Nutritional Sciences at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and lead author of the study.
Added study co-author Julia Wolfson, assistant professor of Health Management and Policy at the U-M School of Public Health, “sugar-sweetened beverages remain ubiquitous in retail and cafeteria settings.
“As we explore avenues to promote healthy food and beverage choices, warning labels are a potential tool to reduce their consumption that should be tested in other populations and other settings,” she said.
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