An on-line survey of more than 2,000 teenagers found they would cut back on soft drink purchases if they came with a warning label about the possibility of obesity, diabetes and tooth decay, say researchers from the University of Pennsylvania medical school. Earlier this year, the research team said parents were less likely to buy sugary beverages for their children if warning labels were attached.
In the new study, the U-Penn scientists said teens were 8 to 16 percent less likely to select sugary beverages depending on the phrasing of the warning label. If there was no label, 77 percent of teens said they would select a sugar-sweetened beverage. The researchers tried five labels, one that emphasized the caloric content and four variations of the health warning. Some 62 percent of the participants in the survey said they would support a policy of putting warning labels on sugary drinks.
“The average teen in the United States consumes at least one sugar-sweetened beverage every day, which could account for more than twice the recommended daily serving of sugar,” said assistant Penn professor Christina Roberto, the lead author of the study. “The rate of sugar consumption in the U.S. is astounding and contributes significantly to obesity, Type 2 diabetes, and other dangerous and costly health conditions.”
In the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, the researchers said, “Adolescents in the four warning label conditions chose fewer sugar-sweetened beverage coupons and believed that sugar-sweetened beverages were less likely to help them lead a healthy life and had more added sugar compared with the no label condition.”