Evidence Hub

Investigating the Sociodemographic and Health Characteristics of Non-Sugar Sweeteners Consumption in Greek School-Aged Children: A Cross-Sectional Study

Kiriaki Apergi, O. Malisova, A. Vlassopoulos, Philippa Fidanoglou, Aikaterini Kandyliari, M. Kapsokefalou

Children, 2024

1,304 participants · 5 citations

Abstract

Background/Objectives: The childhood consumption of non-sugar-sweetened (NSS) soft drinks is a growing concern due to its potential health implications. This study investigated demographic, anthropometric, and lifestyle factors influencing NSS soft drink consumption among children. Methods: A sample of 1304 children and their parents were surveyed. Results: Analysis revealed that nearly 60% reported consuming NSS soft drinks at least once a week. Also, positive associations were found between NSS soft drink consumption and lower socioeconomic status, increased total beverage consumption, higher maternal BMI, and parental soft drink habits. However, upon employing multivariable models, only the association between total and NSS soft drinks consumption remained statistically significant (OR = 18.925, p < 0.05 for children; OR = 3.801, p < 0.05 for parents), highlighting the pivotal role of parental behavior in shaping children’s consumption patterns. Conclusions: These findings emphasize the importance of tracking parental habits, revealing a strong correlation between parental behavior and children’s soft drink consumption patterns. Understanding these factors is crucial for developing effective public health strategies for children, which should prioritize not only individual behaviors but also parental modeling and household dynamics.

Read the paper

Related studies

Go deeper in Evidence Hub

Evidence Hub adds a study data sheet (design, sample size, evidence level, key numbers), an AI summary and a chat grounded in the paper's text.

Open this study Sign up free