ResearchCurrent ResearchSchool Vending Machine Use and Fast-Food Restaurant Use Are Associated with Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake in Youth
Section snippets
Setting
In the 2002/2003 and 2003/2004 school years, 13 Massachusetts middle schools participated in 5-2-1-Go!, a group randomized trial of an intervention to reduce obesity conducted by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health. Schools invited to participate in the study were the 289 serving grades 6 to 8 that were participants in the Massachusetts Department of Public Health Enhanced School Health Services program. Of these, 16 agreed to participate and to be randomized into an intervention or
Results
The number of vending machines at each school ranged from one to five, for a total of 20. All of the 10 schools sold soda and/or other sweetened drinks in their vending machines. Two sold regular (sweetened) soda, seven sold other sweetened drinks, and one sold both categories of beverages. Other items observed in vending machines and the number of schools where they were sold were: water (four schools), 100% fruit juice (two schools), salty snacks (one school), cookies (one school), and ice
Discussion
In this study, the number of items youths purchased at school vending machines was directly associated with sugar-sweetened beverage purchase and intake. Moreover, sugar-sweetened beverages were purchased by more students than any other type of item, among those who used the school vending machine, and were purchased by roughly three times as many students as purchased the next most popular item (water). Number of visits to fast-food restaurants was also directly associated with sugar-sweetened
J. L. Wiecha is a senior research scientist, Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
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Cited by (109)
Promoting healthy choices from vending machines: Effectiveness and consumer evaluations of four types of interventions
2018, Food PolicyCitation Excerpt :Vending machine density is particularly high at high schools and universities: around 75% to 80% of these institutions facilitate snack foods and beverages through one or more vending machines (Larson and Story, 2010; Mikolajczak et al., 2012). Since vending-machine use is associated with detrimental dietary behaviours (e.g. Wiecha et al., 2006), implementing interventions that stimulate low-calorie choices in vending machines is a promising avenue to lower caloric intake through snacking. Previous research on vending-machine interventions show mixed results.
Determinants of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption among Low-Income Children: Are There Differences by Race/Ethnicity, Age, and Sex?
2017, Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics
J. L. Wiecha is a senior research scientist, Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.
D. Finkelstein is a researcher, Mathematica Policy Research, Inc, Cambridge, MA.
P. J. Troped is an assistant professor, Department of Health and Kinesiology, Purdue University, West Lafayette, IN.
M. Fragala is a doctoral fellow, Department of Kinesiology, University of Connecticut, Storrs.
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At the time of the study, D. Finkelstein was a senior data analyst, P. J. Troped was a research associate, and M. Fragala was a research assistant, Department of Society, Human Development and Health, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA. K. E. Peterson is an associate professor, Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA.