Ten-Year Trends in Children’s Caloric-Beverage Consumption and Behavioral Intent - Special Issue

Soft drinks, fruit juice and milk are the most common caloric-beverages consumed by adolescents and teens. We report the ten-year trends in the percentage of daily calories consumed in the form of caloric-beverages from a broad sample of fifth-grade students in the United States. This is a major area of concern related to dietary quality and body weight amongst children. The study was conducted from 2001-2011 through the Healthy Hearts for Kids (HH4K) online instructional program. A total of 17,559 students from 1,048 schools in 49 US states participated. Results reveal there were no changes across the ten-year period in reported fruit juice and milk consumption in the past week. There was a significant downward trend in soft drink consumption in the ten-year period. Juice consumption was positively correlated with soft drink and milk consumption in the past week. Soft drink consumption was positively correlated with milk consumption. The intent to drink two or more soft drinks tomorrow was significantly related to soft drink consumption in the last week and to expected soft drink consumption a year from now. The intent to drink two or more soft drinks in a day one year from now was not related to reported soft drink consumption in the last week. The intent to drink two or more soft drinks tomorrow was not correlated with juice consumption in the past week or with milk consumption in the past week. In conclusion, soft drink consumption declined, but there were no changes in consumption of milk and fruit juice. Soft drinks did not appear to displace either milk or fruit juice. These participants appear to be aware that soft drinks are a less healthy choice.