A randomized trial of sugar-sweetened beverages and adolescent body weight.

Abstract (PubMed)

BACKGROUND: Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages may cause excessive weight gain. We aimed to assess the effect on weight gain of an intervention that included the provision of noncaloric beverages at home for overweight and obese adolescents. METHODS: We randomly assigned 224 overweight and obese adolescents who regularly consumed sugar-sweetened beverages to experimental and control groups. The experimental group received a 1-year intervention designed to decrease consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, with follow-up for an additional year without intervention. The primary outcome was change in BMI at 2 years. RESULTS: Retention rates were 97% at 1 year and 93% at 2 years. Reported consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages declined to nearly 0 in the experimental group at 1 year. The change in BMI between groups at 2 years was -0.3 (P=0.46), but the difference at 1 year was -0.57 (P=0.045). CONCLUSIONS: Among overweight and obese adolescents, the increase in BMI was smaller in the experimental group than in the control group after a 1-year intervention designed to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages, but not at the 2-year follow-up (the prespecified primary outcome).