February Blog Summary - John

Question 1.
The consensus of our DI journal group agrees that our peers, as well as the media, have a strong influence over food and beverage choices during adolescence. This influence is evident at a very young age, as Moriah pointed out to us with her experience working with preschool age children. There were several excellent suggestions given for improving the adolescent perceptions of healthy beverages. One of the ideas that Gina mentioned was that we need to find ways to make the healthy choices just as familiar as the widely advertised SSBs. Through the use of community outreach and using media influence to get the right information out there, healthy food and drink choices can be marketed positively as both convenient and exciting. Moriah suggested that school cafeterias can also provide a great opportunity for positively influencing adolescent behaviors. Through targeting these locations, we can find ways to help make the beverage choices exciting for adolescents to try. Based upon the question responses from the group, the importance of education was a key theme that needs to be included within future practice. It will be important to educate the adolescent population on SSBs and exactly what a healthy beverage looks like. Kirsten brought up an excellent point that we need to include the parents in these education sessions as well. This is important because the parents are most often the ones purchasing SSBs. It will also be important to find ways to positively approach this situation in a non-offensive manner. 

Question 2.
The cross-sectional research design was initially pointed out by several journal club participants as one of the key limitations to this study. It was clear from the group discussion that, if economically feasible, a longitudinal study would have provided better understanding of the relationship between different influences and an individual’s beverage choices. The lack of diversity among the research sample population was also another key limitation in this study that was noted by several journal club members. The demographical background of the participants in a given study are always an important consideration when evaluating the results. Although this study still may provide valuable information to the literature as a whole, future research should be repeated with a focus on a more diverse sample population. As a future dietitian practicing in the field, it is important to always remember to continue to critically evaluate new emerging research and take into consideration multiple factors that can affect the outcome. 

Question 3.
There were certainly some mixed opinions amongst the group on our perceptions of placing health warning labels on SSBs. While several of us thought that it might be a good idea to include these labels as a way to discourage individuals from purchasing SSBs, we also recognize that there is a portion of the population who will continue to purchase these products regardless of what the warning label says, similar to a carton of cigarettes. There is also clear discrepancy as to what exactly is considered an SSB. There is certainly some confusion that has been identified amongst consumers about making healthy choices related to this aspect. For example, those individuals who decide to have a Gatorade without truly breaking a sweat. There seems to be a blurring of the lines with regards to some of these types of beverages that needs to be addressed. We were all in agreement that education is key to helping to resolve some of these issues surrounding overconsumption of SSBs. For future practices, there also needs to be an emphasis placed upon the importance of promoting healthy beverages as well. If we can create campaigns that focus on the positive impact that these healthy beverage choices can make then we can hopefully help others to understand the differences.