Validating sugar‐sweetened beverage intake and adiposity among African‐American and White adults in a doubly labeled water study

Evidence is mixed regarding sugar‐sweetened beverage (SSB) intake and adiposity among adults. To look at the effect of reporting bias, we compared SSB intake and overweight/obese status (BMI ≥25 kg/m 2 ) among adults in a dietary assessment and doubly labeled water study (n=250). Four web‐based, 24‐hour recalls assessed dietary intake. SSB intake was categorized as none, 1–99 kcals/day, or >99 kcals/day; 99 kcals/day was median SSB intake among consumers. Logistic regression models, adjusted for total caloric intake, age, race, education and diet quality, compared SSB intake to overweight/obese status. We repeated analyses in a subset of “true reporters”: those with self‐reported total caloric intake within 25% of total energy expenditure per doubly labeled water (n=108). One‐half of participants were overweight/obese; more overweight/obese participants drank SSB than normal weight participants (69% vs. 47%; p<0.001). Intake of other beverages did not differ by adiposity. Compared to no intake, SSB intake up to the median doubled the risk of being overweight/obese (OR: 2.1, 95% CI: 1.0–4.3; p=0.046), and SSB intake over the median more than doubled the risk (OR: 2.6, 95% CI: 1.2–6.0; p=0.018). When limited to true reporters, SSB intake significantly increased the risk of being overweight/obese by nearly 4 fold. Results support that SSB consumption increases the risk of being overweight/obese among adults. This funding for this project was provided by the National Institutes of Health grant R01CA105048, as well as training grant T32 GM084896.Grant Funding Source : Training grant T32 GM084896