An Educational Intervention for Improving the Snacks and Beverages Brought to Youth Sports in the USA

Abstract

Objectives: The purpose of this study was to test a small-scale intervention and its ability to decrease total sugar intake and number of calories offered at youth sports games. Methods: This study was a pre/post-test quasi-experimental design. A flier was developed and distributed to parents. The flier aimed to decrease the sugar-sweetened beverages and increase the nutritional quality of food brought to games. Baseline data were collected in 2018 (n = 61). The flier was distributed prior to the start of the league, once during the league, and posted online in 2019. Postintervention data were collected in the intervention group (n = 122) and a comparison group (n = 74). Nutritional information was collected through direct observation. Results: The average amount of total sugar provided per game per child was 25.5 g at baseline when snacks/beverages were provided at games. After the intervention, the average amount of total sugar provided significantly decreased (16.7 g/game/child, p < 0.001). Conclusions: The intervention reduced total sugar offered and the number of sugar-sweetened beverages brought to games. It was low-cost and could be easily implemented by public health practitioners and/or parks and recreation administrators. Further, considerations could be made to implement policies relative to snacks and beverages at youth sports games.

Family Social Support and Weight-Related Behaviors of School-Age Children: An Exploratory Analysis

“…Therefore, the dietary guidelines have recommended limiting added sugar to 10% of total energy intake, yet national data indicates that about 80% of young children are exceeding this recommendation [ 39 ], with about 15 to 25% of total added sugars attributed to beverages, increasing to about 32% of added intake in adolescence [ 39 ]. Similarly, many studies have reported that children are exceeding recommendations for limiting added sugar, particularly due to the intake of sugary drinks [ 72 , 73 , 74 ]. In contrast, children in this study had few sugar-sweetened beverages, averaging less than one-half serving per day.…”