Thirsty? Choose Water! Encouraging Secondary School Students to choose water over sugary drinks. A descriptive analysis of intervention components

School-based learning about sugary drinks: possibilities and potential for curriculum approaches supporting health promotion in New Zealand

Achieving greater alignment with national curriculum and local school and teacher objectives alongside a deeper understanding of student needs can enhance the impact and reach of health promotion interventions. This study reports on teacher perspectives of a multi-pathway curriculum outline supporting learning (Grades 7-9) about sugary drinks. The outline was developed to support scale-up and sustainability of a successful sugary drink intervention trialed in four New Zealand secondary schools. Sixteen teachers from a range of subjects provided input via focus groups. Inductive qualitative thematic analysis was used to identify and interpret patterns within the data. Sugary drinks were perceived to be an important and engaging learning context. Teachers valued the potential long-term societal benefits of health-based learning and benefits to individual students and their families. They recognised students as health communicators and influencers within families and communities. Relevance to students' lives and alignment with national curriculum and assessment objectives and teacher subject expertise were key factors in learning pathway selection. Teacher support is crucial in facilitating sustainable school-based health promotion, which often does not sit within a single curriculum area. Factors such as these, that teachers prioritise in their curriculum decision-making, must be understood and leveraged in school-based health promotion research.

Evaluating campaign concepts aimed at replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with water

ISSUE ADDRESSED

The study addresses the global health concern of sugar overconsumption, particularly focusing on the prevalence of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among young people.

METHODS

The study tested three different health promotion campaign concepts, designed to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage intake and promote water consumption as a healthier alternative. A total of 402 young adults (18-29) were recruited from a university campus and an online panel. Participants were randomly assigned to view one of three campaign images: one advocating for substituting sugar-sweetened beverages with water, and two exclusively promoting water consumption. These images were assessed through an online survey, which included questions on emotional response, salience, attitudes and intentions towards various beverages.

RESULTS

Participants exposed to the campaign emphasising the benefits of water showed a greater intention to increase water consumption and reduce both sugar- and non-sugar-sweetened beverages compared with the other groups. There were no significant differences observed for the beverage choice task across the campaigns.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings suggest that messaging focusing on the benefits of water holds promise in encouraging healthier beverage consumption intentions among young adults. The lack of significant differences in the beverage choice task across the campaigns indicates a need for further research to explore long-term behaviour change effects. SO WHAT?: By highlighting the benefits of water consumption, campaigns may have the potential to positively influence beverage choices and promote healthier habits. Continued research in this area can provide valuable insights for developing more impactful interventions aimed at reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.

Effectiveness of nutrition interventions in Australian secondary schools: A systematic review

ISSUE ADDRESSED

Dietary intake of Australian adolescents is suboptimal. Schools are an ideal setting for health promotion initiatives to develop healthy lifestyle behaviours among adolescents. However, we do not know which nutrition-focused, school-based interventions are effective at improving health outcomes in adolescents in Australia. Therefore, the aim was to evaluate the effect of nutrition interventions on health outcomes in Australian secondary school students.

METHODS

MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, ERIC and Informit were systematically searched on 4th November 2022. Studies in any language evaluating nutrition interventions implemented in Australian secondary schools were included. Studies evaluating interventions conducted in primary schools or outside the school setting were excluded, as were any grey literature, systematic reviews and meta-analyses. Screening and data extraction were performed in duplicate. Quality was assessed using the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool.

RESULTS

Thirteen studies (n = 27 224) reporting on nutrition interventions implemented in Australian secondary schools were included. Studies were conducted in five different states and a capital territory within Australia and were mostly randomised controlled trials. Most studies reported a significant improvement on nutrition-related health outcome measures (dietary behaviour n = 6, nutritional knowledge and attitudes n = 4 and anthropometric n = 1).

CONCLUSIONS

This review found limited studies reporting on nutrition interventions in Australian secondary schools. However, most were shown to be effective in improving nutrition-related health outcomes. SO WHAT?: Since there were limited studies in peer-reviewed journals, more research in this area is needed to confirm the effectiveness of nutrition interventions in Australian secondary schools and to assess long-term effects on student's health outcomes.

Thirsty? Choose Water! A regional perspective to promoting water consumption in secondary school students

OBJECTIVE

Adolescents are high consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB), which contribute to overweight and obesity - a significant public health issue. Evidence suggests that replacing SSB with water and school-based interventions can reduce consumption. This study examines the acceptability of a previously trialled intervention (Thirsty? Choose Water!) in regional and remote secondary schools.

DESIGN

An open-label randomised controlled trial using a two-by-two factorial design tested the outcomes of a behavioural and/or environmental intervention on SSB and water consumption.

SETTING

Regional and remote secondary schools (public, catholic and independent) within the boundaries of two regional Local Health Districts within New South Wales.

PARTICIPANTS

Twenty-four schools participated in the study. The target group was year 7 students (n 1640) - 72 % of eligible students completed baseline data. The study followed students into year 8 (n 1188) - 52 % of eligible students completed post-intervention data. Forty teachers undertook training to deliver the intervention.

RESULTS

Interventions showed high levels of acceptability. Students demonstrated changes in knowledge, attitudes and consumption behaviours. Multivariable ordinal logression analysis demonstrated that all interventions increased the odds of students increasing their water consumption (though not statistically significant). Conversely, the combined (OR: 0·75; 95 % CI: 0·59, 0·97) or environmental intervention (OR: 0·68; 95 % CI: 0·51, 0·90) had greater odds of reducing SSB consumption and was statistically significant.

CONCLUSIONS

This study builds on recent Australian evidence regarding the impact of school-based interventions on water and SSB consumption. In this study, despite a minor intervention change, and the impacts of fires, floods and COVID-19 on study implementation, the interventions were highly regarded by the school communities with positive outcomes.

Trajectories of beverage consumption during adolescence

Beverages contribute substantially to daily energy and nutrient intakes. However, little is known about the co-development of beverage consumption throughout adolescence. This study aimed to investigate the presence of naturally occurring sub-groups of girls and boys following distinct trajectories of various types of beverage consumption (i.e. sugary beverages, tea and coffee, water, and milk) throughout adolescence. During the Monitoring Activities for Teenagers to Comprehend their Habits study, data were collected from 744 Canadian youths followed for six years (2013-2019). The participants were asked yearly (start-age 10-11 years old) to report how many times they consumed sugary beverages, tea and coffee, water, and milk in a week. Trajectories of beverage consumption were identified from age 11 to 18 using a person-centred approach, namely group-based multi-trajectory modelling. For girls, three different groups were identified: 'Water consumers' (62.7%), 'High beverage consumers' (20.9%), and 'Water and milk consumers' (16.4%). For boys, four different groups were identified: 'Water consumers' (39.1%), 'Water and milk consumers' (30.5%), 'Sugary drinks, coffee and tea consumers' (20.1%), and 'High beverage consumers' (10.4%). This study illustrates the complexity of beverage consumption patterns in adolescence. Various types of public health messaging and interventions may be required to promote healthier beverage consumption patterns among all adolescents.

The outcomes of [project name removed for blinding - subsequently documented as XX] Determining the effects of a behavioural and an environmental intervention on water and sugar sweetened beverage consumption in adolescents: A randomised controlled trial

ISSUE

Childhood obesity is a serious public health challenge. Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is one contributing factor, with adolescents being the highest consumers.

METHODS

This study used a randomised controlled trial and two-by-two factorial design to determine the effectiveness of a school-based behavioural intervention (including education/promotional messages) and/or environmental intervention (chilled water station), on encouraging adolescents to choose water instead of SSBs. Sixty-one secondary schools (n=8,992 eligible students) were recruited and randomly allocated to one of four study groups, the behavioural intervention, the environmental intervention, both interventions or neither.

RESULTS

The primary outcome was increased water consumption; secondary outcomes included changes in students' knowledge and attitudes about water and SSBs and changes in SSBs consumption. For students who received at least one intervention there was an increased odds (though not statistically significant) of higher water consumption compared to those that received no intervention. There was a decrease in SSBs consumption for students who received both interventions combined (OR = .67; 95% confidence interval, 0.55-.082; P<0.01).

CONCLUSIONS

The combined intervention had a greater effect on decreasing SSBs consumption. This is noteworthy given SSBs are a key contributor to overweight and obesity. SO WHAT?: To our knowledge this is the first Australian study examining combined school-based interventions to specifically promote the consumption of water and decrease the consumption of SSBs in adolescents. The study findings add to the evidence regarding the benefits of delivering multi-component school-based interventions which add value to existing interventions that address the complex public health issue of overweight and obesity.