Abstract

Objective: The Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL) came into effect on 6^th of April 2018 and it is designed to tackle Sugar Sweetened Beverages (SSBs) consumption; the largest contributor of sugar in children’s diets in the UK. The SDIL has been mandated as part of the UK’s Childhood Obesity Plan and is projected to result in an 8.55% reduction in the rates of children and adolescents who are obese. Other countries have enacted similar taxation schemes. This study aimed to explore the underlying demographic, behavioural, or anthropometric characteristics of children who drink sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in the UK.

Methods: Data from 4-day estimated food diaries of 1298 children aged 4-10 years from the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) rolling program from 2008 to 2014 were analysed. Using a technique called hierarchical agglomerative clustering (HAC), children with similar characteristics were naturally grouped into distinctive clusters using a combined metric of all seventeen variables collected as part of the NDNS.  

Results: Six distinct clusters were identified of varying sizes (n1= 76, n2=142, n3=229, n4=295, n5=382, n6=174). SSB drinking ranged from 94.74% to 48.28% among groups. However, the analysis revealed that there was no significant association between SSB drinking and bodyweight status or the total daily energy intake. 

Conclusion: Consumption of SSBs was not identified as a factor which was associated with health-related outcomes. This suggest that interventions that aim to tackle a particular health behaviour or bodyweight category may need to consider other health determinants and outcomes. 

Conference Title

· 6th Obesity Stigma Conference – Leeds, UK (2018)

Conference Country

Palestine

Conference Date

Jan. 1, 2018 - Jan. 1, 2018

Conference Sponsor

· 6th Obesity Stigma Conference – Leeds, UK (2018)