Sugary beverages add a significant amount of sugar and calories to the diets of children and adolescents. Choosing healthy beverages, and low- or no-calorie options such as water, instead of high-calorie sugary beverages, has great potential to help children, youth, and families reduce caloric intake, improve diet quality, and reduce their risk for obesity. Research in this area evaluates strategies to increase access to and consumption of healthy beverages and decrease access to and consumption of unhealthy beverages.
Fast Fact
Beverages
Research & Publications
October 2020
Identifying geographic differences in children’s sugar‐sweetened beverage and 100% fruit juice intake using health system data
This study aimed to demonstrate the feasibility of using health system data to examine the geographic distribution of sugar‐sweetened beverage intake and evaluate neighborhood characteristics associated with intake. Researchers extracted electronic health record data from a sugar‐sweetened beverage and 100% fruit juice screener used for children ages 1 to 17 years in … More
September 2020
Drinking water access in California schools: Room for improvement following implementation of school water policies
This study aimed to investigate how access to free drinking water in California public schools changed after implementation of 2010 federal and state school water policies. Repeated cross-sectional surveys were conducted with administrators in a random sample of California public schools, stratified by school type and urban-centric geography, from 2010 … More
August 2020
Assessing the Implementation of Kids’ Meals Healthy Default Beverage Policies in the State of California and City of Wilmington, Del.
Healthy default beverage (HDB) policies are one policy approach to limiting kids’ sugary drink consumption and encouraging healthier beverage consumption. These policies specifically require restaurants to offer only healthier drinks (e.g., water, milk, 100% juice) instead of sugary drinks as the default options with kids’ meals, a combination of food … More
July 2020
Stories of Success: A Qualitative Examination of Contributors to Excellence in School Drinking Water Access
Drinking water instead of beverages with added sugar can help prevent obesity and cavities and promote overall health. Children spend much of their day in school, where they have variable access to drinking water. In 2010, federal and state law required California public schools to provide free potable water to … More