Ebbeling,C.B., Feldman,H.A., Chomitz,V.R., et al. (2012) N.Engl.J.Med. 10.1056/NEJMoa1203388
Objective: To test the hypothesis that overweight and obese adolescents who received an intervention to reduce the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages would gain weight at a slower rate than those who did not receive the intervention.
Design: Randomised prospective intervention over 1-year with 1-year additional follow-up. The experimental group received noncaloric beverages at home, with motivational telephone calls with parents, 3-check-in visits over the year, and instructions not to buy or drink SSBs. The control group received supermarket gift cards at 4 and 8 months.
Setting: US
Participants: 224 adolescents (124 boys) who reported consuming at least one serving(12oz) per day of SSB or 100% fruit juice, in grade 9/10 and with BMI greater than or at the 85th percentile for sex and age.
Main outcome measures: Primary outcome was change in BMI at 2 y (measured) %body fat estimated by bioelectrical impedance. 24-hr dietary and physical activity recall at baseline, 1 y and 2 y. Changes were adjusted for sex, race, ethnic group, household income, parental education, baseline BMI, baseline beverage consumption, baseline total energy intake, baseline sugar intake and baseline obesity.
Results: SSB and total energy consumption fell in both groups at both 1 and 2 y, although they were lower in the experimental group than the control group. The primary outcome, the change in BMI at 2 y was not different between groups. There were significant differences at 1 y, where BMI and weight increased less in the experimental group. There were no differences in the change in height between groups or in body fat. Analysis by ethnic group revealed Hispanic adolescents to have a significant between group difference in the change in BMI at both 1 and 2y. TV viewing fell in the experimental group at both 1 and 2 y. Sugar intake was the only covariate which attenuated the effect on BMI.
Conclusions: Among overweight and obese adolescents, the increase in BMI was smaller in the experimental group than in the control group after the 1-year intervention to reduce SSB consumption, but not at the 2-year follow-up.
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