CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. (KT) – University of Virginia researchers are testing a digital program designed to help rural families in Kentucky and four other states reduce their consumption of sugary drinks.
Sugary drinks are the largest single source of added calories for Americans and account, on average, for about eight percent of children’s daily calories and seven percent among adults, said researcher Jamie Zoellner, PhD, RD, a registered dietician with UVA’s Department of Public Health Sciences. Nearly half of American children ages 2-5 consume sugary drinks every day, Zoellner said. Sugary drink consumption increases the risk for a range of health conditions, including cancer, heart disease and diabetes.
Sugary drink consumption among adults is higher in rural areas than in urban areas, she added, which is why the study evaluating weSIPsmarter is targeting both adults and their young children.
“Research shows that helping parents build knowledge, confidence and healthy attitudes about sugary drinks can improve what young children drink,” stated Zoellner the study’s principal investigator. “Factors such as parents’ understanding of healthy beverages, their own drinking habits and how they offer drinks to their children can all influence a child’s intake of sugary drinks. “This is especially important because adults ages 18 to 34, the age group that includes many preschool parents, consume the highest amounts of sugary drinks themselves.”
The program has six online “cores” that provide information and activities designed to motivate families who volunteer for the study to reduce their sugary drink consumption. Automated reminder emails, along with text messages and phone calls as needed, encourage families to complete all six cores. Families report their daily sugary drink intake either by responding to a text message or by logging into a study website. Parents also have the option to track their weight daily by stepping onto a digital scale with cellular connectivity provided free as part of the program.
Researchers will evaluate the program on whether it reduces sugary drink consumption among children, as well as parents’ sugary drink consumption, overall beverage and diet quality, body mass index and families’ quality of life.
