Sugary drink consumption behaviours among young adults at university

Abstract

Aim: Sugary drink consumption is associated with weight gain, and young adults are the highest consumers. To inform a university healthy beverage intervention, we studied the settings and the types and amounts of sugary drinks consumed by a sample drawn from the student population. Methods: Fifty university students (24 male) were recruited to keep records of all beverages consumed over four consecutive days. The records were analysed by gender, drink category and consumption setting. Results: Males drank marginally more sugary drinks than females (median daily intake of 526mL compared with 300mL, P=0.06). Median energy intake from sugary drinks was 928kJ for males and 481kJ for females. Carbonated soft drinks and fruit-based drinks accounted for 64% of energy from sugary drinks for males; and fruit and sweetened milk-based drinks accounted for 68% of energy for females. Half of all sugary drink consumption occurred at home followed by social settings. Conclusion: Health promotion programmes aiming to reduce sugary drink consumption in this group would benefit from gender-differentiated strategies with respect to types of drinks consumed with a focus on the home and social settings.