Factors associated with the consumption of carbonated soft drinks among Saudi adolescents aged 13-15 years in Riyadh city

Abstract EN

The study aimed to identify factors associated with carbonated soft drink consumption among Saudi adolescents aged 13-15 years in Riyadh city and to evaluate the effect of age and gender on these factors.

A total of 1200 questionnaires were distributed to intermediate schools students aged 13-15 years in Riyadh city, at 18 schools representing the five educational zones.

The questionnaire consisted of specific questions related to the frequency of carbonated soft drink consumption, parental and peer soft drink consumption, availability at home, taste preference, fast food consumption, and television viewing.

The response rate was 86.2%.

Multivariate logistic regression analyses were conducted to predict the odds that carbonated soft drink consumption varied by the different factors.

Preference of taste of carbonated soft drink was the strongest predictor in the analysis, with those who reported the strongest taste preference 2.3 times more likely to drink carbonated soft drinks 7 times or more per week.

Adolescents who consume fast food more than once per week and those who watch television >= 3.5 hours / day were 1.75 and 1.7 times (respectively) more likely to drink carbonated soft drinks 7 times or more per week.

It could be concluded that several factors may be associated with carbonated soft drink consumption in Saudi adolescents, most notably taste preference, fast food consumption, television viewing, peers and parental intake and the availability of carbonated soft drink at home.