Final Assignment : Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
Francesca Mancini
Prof. Nakamoto October 23, 2012
Final Assignment : Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
The article “A Randomized Trial of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Adolescent Body Weight”(2012) aims at examining the causal relationship between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity among adolescents.
The research for this article is a follow up of a previous pilot study that has been conducted on a period of six months involving normal weight, overweight, and obese adolescents who consumed sugar sweetened beverages regularly. Results showed that there was a significant decrease of body weight and body mass index (BMI) among the overweight and obese adolescents. Due to this result, a further study has been designed to reanalyze the data from the pilot study and further explain the effects of sugar-sweetened beverages.
The research method used was a random sample of 224 adolescents that are obese or overweight who consumed at least one serving of sugar-sweetened beverages or fruit juice per day. Participants were randomly assigned to a control group or an experimental group for two years; where one year would be an intervention and the second year a follow up. Since the participants are young, the parents provided a written consent and the participants a written assent.
The multicomponent intervention aimed to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages for one year in the experimental group by providing access to home delivery of non-caloric beverages. Motivational telephone calls with parents were conducted on a monthly basis and three check-in visits with participants. The control group on the other hand received $50 supermarket gift cards to participants at four to eight months as a retention strategy but did not instruct them on what to purchase with the cards. It is important to note that the study did not focus attention to other diet methods or physical activity, however, they have included the daily physical activity
Prof. Nakamoto October 23, 2012
Final Assignment : Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
The article “A Randomized Trial of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Adolescent Body Weight”(2012) aims at examining the causal relationship between the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity among adolescents.
The research for this article is a follow up of a previous pilot study that has been conducted on a period of six months involving normal weight, overweight, and obese adolescents who consumed sugar sweetened beverages regularly. Results showed that there was a significant decrease of body weight and body mass index (BMI) among the overweight and obese adolescents. Due to this result, a further study has been designed to reanalyze the data from the pilot study and further explain the effects of sugar-sweetened beverages.
The research method used was a random sample of 224 adolescents that are obese or overweight who consumed at least one serving of sugar-sweetened beverages or fruit juice per day. Participants were randomly assigned to a control group or an experimental group for two years; where one year would be an intervention and the second year a follow up. Since the participants are young, the parents provided a written consent and the participants a written assent.
The multicomponent intervention aimed to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages for one year in the experimental group by providing access to home delivery of non-caloric beverages. Motivational telephone calls with parents were conducted on a monthly basis and three check-in visits with participants. The control group on the other hand received $50 supermarket gift cards to participants at four to eight months as a retention strategy but did not instruct them on what to purchase with the cards. It is important to note that the study did not focus attention to other diet methods or physical activity, however, they have included the daily physical activity