Policymakers worldwide are considering requiring warnings for sugary drinks. A growing number of experimental studies have examined sugary drink warnings’ impacts, but no research to our knowledge has synthesized this literature. To inform ongoing policy debates, this study aimed to identify the effects of sugary drink warnings compared with control conditions. Using a comprehensive search strategy, the researchers identified and meta-analyzed 23 experiments, representing more 16,000 individuals, that assessed the impact of sugary drink warnings versus control conditions. The study found that sugary drink warnings reduced both self-reported and objectively measured purchases of sugary drinks. Warnings also led to beneficial changes in mechanisms underlying longer-term behavior change, including causing stronger emotional responses, increasing perceptions that sugary drinks contribute to disease, and reducing intentions to purchase or consume sugary drinks.
Sugary drink warnings: A meta-analysis of experimental studies
Related Research
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