For the 2017 Community Health Status Survey (CHSS), sponsored by Interact for Health, area adults were asked how many sugar-sweetened drinks they consume each week, including soda, sweet tea, sports drinks, fruit drinks and energy drinks, but not including diet soda or other diet beverages. Most people know that soda has added sugar; however, not all realize that other drinks can also contain significant added sugar. CHSS found that 4 in 10 adults in the region (40 percent) reported drinking seven or more regular sodas or sugar-sweetened drinks each week, an average of at least one per day.
According to the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, almost half of all added sugar consumed in the nation comes from beverages.
“Sugar adds calories to a person’s diet without providing the nutrients needed to be healthy,” explains O’dell Moreno Owens, M.D., M.P.H., President/CEO of Interact for Health.
The Guidelines recommend limiting added sugars to 10 percent of daily calories.
“If people consume more than that, they may not get the nutrients they need from fruits, grains, vegetables, protein and dairy products.”
Studies have shown that drinking one or more sugary beverage per day — the equivalent of seven or more each week — can increase the risk of obesity, diabetes and heart disease.
“High levels of sugar consumption over time can negatively affect a person’s health,” says Dr. Owens. “It’s important to raise awareness of the risks of obesity and chronic disease associated with this behavior.”
Rural adults more likely to drink sugary drinks
Six in 10 adults (59 percent) in rural Kentucky counties (Bracken, Carroll, Gallatin, Owen and Pendleton counties) and about 5 in 10 adults in rural Ohio counties (53 percent) and rural Indiana counties (48 percent) reported drinking seven or more sodas or sugar-sweetened drinks each week.
About 4 in 10 adults (42 percent) in urban Kentucky counties (Boone, Campbell, Grant and Kenton counties), the city of Cincinnati (37 percent) and suburban Ohio counties (36 percent) reported this. In Hamilton County suburbs, 3 in 10 adults reported drinking seven or more sugary beverages each week (32 percent).
Adults with less income, men, African Americans more likely to drink sugary beverages
Drinking sugar-sweetened beverages also varied by income, sex and race. More than half (54 percent) of adults earning 200% or less of the Federal Poverty Guidelines (FPG)* reported drinking seven or more sodas or sugar-sweetened drinks each week. This compares with about 3 in 10 adults earning more than 200% FPG (32 percent). Drinking sugary beverages also varied by sex and race. Nearly 5 in 10 men (48 percent) reported drinking seven or more sugar-sweetened beverages each week, compared with more than 3 in 10 women (33 percent). Similarly, half of African American adults (50 percent) reported drinking seven or more sugary beverages each week, compared with 4 in 10 white adults (40 percent).
More information about Greater Cincinnati adults’ sugary beverage consumption, and other topics, is available online.