Establishing healthy beverage patterns during early childhood (ages 0 to 5 years) is important for promoting healthy growth and development in childhood and reducing risk of chronic diseases as an adult. Health care providers play an essential role in identifying and addressing unhealthy beverage consumption patterns in young children and helping families develop healthy beverage More
Keywords: Health Care, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water
This study examined beverage intake among families with low income by household participation in federal food assistance programs. This was a cross-sectional study conducted in fall/winter 2020 via an online survey. Participants were mothers of young children insured by Medicaid at the time of the child’s birth (N = 493). Mothers reported household federal food More
In 2019, Healthy Eating Research (HER) developed recommendations on what children ages 0 to 5 should drink as part of a healthy diet, in partnership with the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy of Pediatrics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry, and the American Heart Association. Having one set of uniform recommendations provided More
Date: May 2023
Resource Type: Research Brief
Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood Nutrition Policy & Programs
Within an academic health system in the United States that already performs electronic health record-based sugary drink screening, we conducted a pilot randomized trial of a technology-driven family beverage choice intervention. The goal of the intervention was to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and fruit juice (FJ) consumption in 60 parent–child dyads, in which children were More
Keywords: Health Care, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water
This research brief gives an overview of the Water is K’é intervention, conducted among Navajo Nation families. The intervention was delivered by early care and education teachers to households with children ages 2-5, and covered the cultural importance of water, health benefits of water, and alternatives to sugary drinks. At baseline, more than 70% of children already More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Community setting, Water
Despite expert recommendations, U.S. parents often serve sugar-sweetened children’s drinks, including sweetened fruit-flavored drinks and toddler milks, to young children. This qualitative research explored parents’ understanding of common marketing tactics used to promote these drinks and whether they mislead parents to believe the drinks are healthy and/or necessary for children. We conducted nine focus groups More
Keywords: Front-of-package labeling, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water
In 2018, Healthy Eating Research (HER)—a national program of the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF)—developed a national research agenda to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) and increase access to and consumption of safe drinking water among 0- to 5-year-olds. Through this process, it became clear that a lack of consistent recommendations for beverage More
Keywords: Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water
Date: November 2021
Resource Type: Commissioned Research Project Summary
Focus Areas: Beverages Early Childhood
In 2019, California and Wilmington, Delaware implemented policies requiring healthier default beverages with restaurant kids’ meals. The current study assessed restaurant beverage offerings and manager perceptions. Pre-implementation, the most common kids’ meal beverages on California menus were unflavored milk and water (78·8 %, 52·0 %); in Wilmington, juice, milk and sugar-sweetened beverages were most common More
Keywords: Fast food, Menu Labeling, Restaurant, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water
The project’s goal is to conduct a randomized, controlled trial to evaluate the impact of a culturally appropriate social behavior change communication campaign on sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) and water consumption among black families with children aged 0-5 years. Specific aims include: (1) Deliver a culturally appropriate social behavior change communication campaign with messages delivered through More
Keywords: Message Framing, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water
The study uses a systems science approach to identify upstream strategies that can support sustained changes in the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and water in a low-income, predominantly Hispanic community. This research is designed to generate information crucial for the development of robust multilevel systems recommendations that are contextually and culturally appropriate. Specific aims include: More
Keywords: Child Care/Preschool, Head Start, Sugar-sweetened beverages, Water