Warning labels reduce sweet drink consumption in college settings-ScienceDaily

“Sugar-sweetened beverages are a major cause of chronic illness. Health warning labels may reduce the intake of sugar-sweetened beverages, but the effectiveness of such labels in the real world has been established. I’m just getting started, “said assistant Jennifer Falbe. He is a professor of nutrition and human development at the University of California, Davis, a senior author of research, and designed the warning labels used. “This experiment takes the evidence one step further by examining the behavior of young adults in situations they do frequently each day,” she said. This study was conducted by the University of Michigan School of Public Health and the University of California, Davis.

Inspired by tobacco control efforts, researchers put a warning label on the University of Michigan cafeteria beverage dispenser in the first semester of 2019. In a previously proposed language based on California law, a bright yellow label with a large triangle and an exclamation point states:

“Warning: Drinking sugared drinks can cause type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and tooth decay.” Two other cafeterias on campus (geographically separated from the labeled cafeteria) It acted as an administration site and did not display a warning label.

Before and after the warning label was affixed, nearly 1,000 college students received emails asking them to participate in the survey without mentioning sugared beverages. Participants were given a $ 10 gift card after each survey was completed.

In total, 840 students from all cafeterias were included in the survey. At the intervention site, consumption of sugar-containing beverages with warning labels decreased by 18.5%, compared with a 4.7% decrease at control sites without the label. Students exposed to the warning label reduced their consumption of 100% juice beverages by 21%, even though the experiment did not label the juice as a sugared beverage.

Tools to reduce sugar consumption

“The results of this study are to reduce the consumption of beverages whose warning label is sweetened with sugar, especially those such as sweet tea, pink lemonade, and chocolate milk whose sugar content is not immediately apparent or well known. It shows that it can be an effective tool. ” Cindy Leon, an assistant professor of nutrition science at the University of Michigan School of Public Health and the lead author of the study.

“Sugar-sweetened beverages are everywhere in retail and cafeteria settings. When looking for ways to facilitate the choice of healthy foods and beverages, warning labels are in other groups and in other settings. It’s a potential tool to reduce the consumption that needs to be tested, “said Julia Wolfson, assistant professor of health care and policy at the UM School of Public Health and co-author of the study.

A study last month found that warning labels reduce college students’ intake of sugar-sweetened beverages. Nutrition Journal.. Additional co-authors are all Robert Sue, Keith Soster, and Steve Manganese at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor. Farube teaches at the Faculty of Human Ecology at the University of California, Davis.

“These results provide evidence of future institutional strategies … and legislative efforts to use warning labels as a promising approach to SSB consumption,” the researchers conclude. It was.

For example, nine jurisdictions, including California, have introduced legislation on warning labels for sugared beverages at various times. “These laws ensure that consumers have the information they need to make informed choices,” Farube said.

The study was funded by a grant from the University of Michigan’s Poverty Solutions, the McNearney Award from the University of Michigan School of Public Health, Faculty of Health Management Policy, and the National Institutes of Health.

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material Provided by University of California, Davis.. Original written by Karen Nikos-Rose. Note: The content can be edited in style and length.