Consumption of sugary drinks and sugar added to beverages and their relationship with anthropometric indicators in young people from medellín (Colombia)

Abstract

Introduction: worldwide, there is a high prevalence of overweight and obesity in children and young people; the etiology is multicausal and influences include environmental, cultural and eating habit factors such as the consumption of sugary drinks and added sugar, which promote excess weight and risk of chronic diseases. Objective: to identify the relationship between the amount of ingested sugary drinks (BA) or added sugar (AA) and the nutritional status of young people. Methods: cross-sectional study carried out in 596 individuals aged between 10 and 18 years; the evaluation of dietary intake was made using a Reminder 24 hours (R24H); for each subject the Best Linear Unbiased Predictor (BLUP) of energy, and %AMDR (Acceptable Macronutrient Distribution Range) for total carbohydrates (CHOs) and simple CHOs were considered; nutritional status was classified according to the Body Mass Index (BMI) Z-score and percentage of body fat (%BF). Association was determined using Spearman’s correlation, Mann-Whitney U-test, Kruskal-Wallis test, and a quantile regression model. Results: young people with medium-low socioeconomic status had higher AA consumption (p ≤ 0.0001); young people with an adequate nutritional status had higher AA (p = 0.011) and energy consumption (p ≤ 0.0001), and those with excess nutritional status ingested a greater amount of BA (p = 0.025) and had a greater %AMDR for CHOs (p = 0.045). Conclusions: the development of overweight was not related to excessive energy intake but to consumption of sugary drinks and the contribution of simple carbohydrates to total energy.