Much like the cosmetic manufacturers serving the global mass market, producers of sugar- sweetened beverages (SSBs) have over the past few decades shifted their attention from the developed world to emerging economies to sell their products. While it is perfectly understandable from their point of view companies are in business to turn a profit, after all, and if their products do not sell in huge markets such as India, China, Brazil, Russia, South Africa and the like they might as well shut shop the question that oughttourgently concern policymakers around the world is the impact SSB consumption has on citizens, especially children.
Kids’ consumption of SSBs which include carbonated/non-carbonated soft drinks, sodas, fruit drinks, and sports drinks is linked to numerous negative near-term and long-term health outcomes. Despite widespread acceptance among public health experts that childhood SSB consumption should be reduced, doing so has proven to be a challenge worldwide. In a study which began in October 2022, researchers Matt Kasman and Ross A. Hammond devel- oped an agent-based model (ABM) to evaluate intervention efforts in different settings in the USA ~ child- care, schools, and at home. This research showed that reduction of access to SSBs in the home was the most promising context for intervention.
In a new study published in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, Kasman and Hammond replicated their previous research’s high-quality, longitudinal data from multiple cohorts of children from varied populations and environments. After verifying that the model was able to reproduce consumption patterns observed in each cohort, it used it to simulate potential impacts of multiple intervention strategies across contexts. Its conclusions are worth paying heed to for public health policy experts and stakeholders in India and across the developing world too. Reducing home availability of SSBs consistently led to the largest potential reduction in overall consumption. A complete decrease in availability of SSBs in the home resulted in an average 67 per cent decrease in overall early childhood consumption across the three cohorts. Potential intervention impacts can vary considerably across context, naturally. In developing countries where childcare systems are sub-optimal, and school infrastructure both physical and human far from ideal, the home acquires criticality for parental and caregiver intervention.
The Indian Academy of Paediatrics (IAP) Guidelines on Sugar Sweetened Beverages, Fruit Juices, Energy Drinks, and Junk Foods iterates that consumption of these beverages and foods is associated with higher free sugar and energy intake resulting in higher body mass index in children and adolescents. Intake of these drinks may be associated with cardiac and sleep disturbances. The IAP recommends that children including adolescents limit their consumption of such beverages and other junk food to not more than one serving a week. The question is: Are parents listening?