Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption in Adults: Evidence from a National Health Survey in Peru

Abstract

High consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) is associated with a high risk of non-communicable diseases. Evidence of SSB consumption is needed to inform SSB-related policies, especially in countries with a high consumption, such as Peru. Using data from Peru’s National Health Survey conducted in 2017–2018, the consumption of homemade and ready-to-drink SSB was estimated from a single 24 h dietary recall, accounting for socio-demographic and health-related variables. Regression models were fitted to assess which variables were linked to a high/low SSB consumption. There were 913 people and mean age was 37.7 years (95% confidence interval (CI): 36.9–38.6). Mean consumption (8 oz servings/day) of homemade SSB (1.2) doubled that of ready-to-drink SSB (0.5). The intake of homemade and ready-to-drink SSB was higher in men (1.3 and 0.7) than women (1.1 and 0.3). The intake of ready-to-drink SSB was higher in urban (0.6) compared to rural (0.2) populations. People aware of having diabetes had a lower consumption of both ready-to-drink (0.9 vs. 0.4) and homemade SSB (1.3 vs. 0.8) than those unaware of having diabetes. Male sex and living in urban locations were associated with higher ready-to-drink SSB intake. Older age was associated with a higher intake of homemade SSB. Amongst Peruvian adults, the consumption of SSB products (particularly homemade) remains high. Population-wide interventions should also aim to improve awareness of the nutritional components of homemade beverages.

Sugar-sweetened beverage purchases in urban Peru before the implementation of taxation and warning label policies: a baseline study

“…While mean purchases of high-sugar taxed beverages were more homogenous than purchases of untaxed beverages, the Andean highlands and the southern coast purchased the largest volume of high-sugar taxed beverages. This partially aligns with results of a prior study of SSB consumption using national data, which found that consumption of homemade SSBs was the highest in the Andean highlands, while the highest mean consumption of ready-to-drink SSBs occurred in the southern and central coasts [ 10 ]. In this study, the southern coast had the highest proportion of high SES households outside of Lima, which may have contributed to the larger volume of high-sugar beverage purchases.…”

“…Prior research in urban populations has also shown an inverse relationship between Dietary Quality Score and SES in Peru [ 31 ]. On the other hand, a study of ready-to-drink and homemade SSB consumption found that individuals who completed secondary school (the middle education category) consumed greater quantities of both types of SSBs than those with less education, but had no statistically significant differences in consumption of either beverage type from the higher education group [ 10 ]. Taken together, this suggests that households with higher SES and education currently consume more unhealthy products, although this may be changing as Peru progresses through the obesity transition [ 32 ].…”

“…Estimates of SSB consumption in Peru vary by age, gender and beverage type, ranging from 0.42 and 0.39 servings [one serving is 8 oz or 237 mL] per day among men and women aged ≥80 years, respectively, to 1.52 and 1.39 servings per day among men and women aged 20–29 years in a study of global SSB consumption [ 7 ], to 1.3 servings/day of homemade and 0.7 servings/day of ready-to-drink (RTD) SSBs for men and 1.1 servings/day of homemade SSBs and 0.3 servings/day of RTD SSBs for women based on data from the 2017–2018 Peruvian National Health Survey [ 10 ]. Consumption of SSBs has been linked to overweight and obesity, type II diabetes, and cardiovascular disease [ 11 – 13 ].…”

Agreement between the laboratory-based and non-laboratory-based WHO cardiovascular risk charts: a cross-sectional analysis of a national health survey in Peru

“…To the best of our knowledge, we provided the first evidence of the agreement between the 2019 WHO CVD risk laboratory-based and non-laboratory-based models; furthermore, we leveraged on a nationally representative survey conducted in a LMIC. 26 Different CVD risk equations have been created but none has proved to produce reliable estimates for LMICs. The 2019 WHO CVD risk charts were adapted for LMICs using extensive datasets for its derivation, recalibration and validation, which brings them several advantages over previous risk charts.…”

“…To the best of our knowledge, we provided the first evidence of the agreement between the 2019 WHO CVD risk laboratory-based and non-laboratory-based models; furthermore, we leveraged on a nationally representative survey conducted in a LMIC 26. Different CVD risk equations have been created but none has proved to produce reliable estimates for LMICs.…”