Reducing racial-ethnic disparities in sugar-sweetened beverage intake: the impact of nutrition claims on fruit drink purchases among parents of young children
Summary
This project will inform policies to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake among children ages 1-5 years, with a long-term goal of reducing racial-ethnic disparities in childhood obesity. Fruit-flavored drinks (i.e., “fruit drinks”) are the top SSB consumed by young children, with heaviest consumption occurring among Black and Latino children, who also have the highest prevalence of childhood obesity. Although nutrition claims on fruit drinks are very common, there is little understanding of whether claims impact parents’ decision to purchase fruit drinks, or whether effects are larger for Black or Latino parents. Research on this topic is critical as the FDA is considering regulatory changes for nutrition claims, including “natural” claims —present on half of all fruit drinks — and other common nutrition claims, such as “lower-sugar” or “lightly sweetened” claims and 100% Vitamin C claims may also be subject to future regulation. To inform this policy, this study will examine real-world associations between nutrition claims and fruit drink purchases in a national sample of households, examine the impact of nutrition claims on parents’ decisions to purchase fruit drinks, and test whether effects differ for White, Black and Latino parents.