Summary: A longitudinal study from the University of Alabama at Birmingham found that frequent soft drink consumption in early adolescence predicted increased aggressive behavior later in the teenage years. Aggressive behavior at 13 also predicted greater soft drink consumption by age 16. Soft drink intake at 13 was associated with slightly fewer depressive symptoms, while depressive symptoms did not predict later soda consumption. The findings suggest that reducing adolescents’ intake of sugar‑sweetened beverages could help lower aggressive behaviors.
Source: University of Alabama at Birmingham
Frequent soft drink consumption in adolescence may contribute to rising aggressive behavior, according to a new UAB study published in the Journal of Adolescent Health.
Researchers led by Sylvie Mrug, Ph.D., professor and chair of the Department of Psychology at the University of Alabama at Birmingham, examined how soft drink consumption, aggressive behavior, and depressive symptoms influence one another across early to mid adolescence. Their longitudinal analysis aimed to determine the direction of effects that previous cross‑sectional studies could not establish.
“Despite public health efforts such as soda taxes and school beverage policies, sugar‑sweetened beverage consumption among U.S. youth remains high,” said Mrug. “Understanding how soft drink intake affects emotional and behavioral health over time is important for shaping prevention strategies.”
Using an autoregressive cross‑lagged path model, the study tested reciprocal relationships among soft drink consumption, aggressive behavior, and depressive symptoms measured at ages 11, 13 and 16. The analyses controlled for stability of each behavior across time and for multiple covariates.
Key findings include:
- More frequent soft drink consumption at ages 11 and 13 predicted higher levels of aggressive behavior at the next assessment.
- Aggressive behavior at age 13 predicted increased soft drink consumption by age 16, indicating some reciprocal influence.
- Soft drink consumption at age 13 was linked to slightly fewer depressive symptoms at the subsequent assessment, but overall there was no evidence that soft drink intake contributes to depressive symptoms across adolescence.
- Depressive symptoms did not predict later soft drink consumption.
The study analyzed interviews with 5,147 children and their caregivers from three study sites, with data collected when the children were 11, 13 and 16 years old. At each time point, youth self‑reported how often they consumed soft drinks and completed measures of aggressive behavior and depressive symptoms.
Soft drinks account for a substantial portion of adolescents’ calories, and more than one in five high school students report daily consumption in recent national reports. Public health concern about high soda intake has focused largely on obesity and related health conditions, but accumulating research has also examined links between sugary beverage consumption and mental health and behavioral problems in youth.
Mrug noted parallels between rising soft drink consumption and increases in emotional problems observed historically. Several prior studies have reported substantial increases in emotional difficulties among adolescents in developed countries across past decades.
International and national studies have linked higher sugar‑sweetened beverage intake to a range of behavioral and emotional problems, including aggression, hyperactivity, oppositional behavior, depression and suicidal behavior. Evidence of these associations comes from diverse populations in the United States, Norway, Slovakia, Iran and China, and from cross‑national analyses that tie high sugar consumption to fighting, bullying and substance use.
Most prior work has adjusted statistically for potential confounders such as age, sex, body mass index, physical activity, overall diet, substance use and family background. Still, these studies have often been cross‑sectional, leaving open the possibility that mental health problems could drive greater consumption of sugary foods and drinks. Experimental studies have shown that some individuals increase intake of sweet products when under stress or experiencing negative emotions, lending plausibility to bidirectional pathways.
The current longitudinal results strengthen the case that frequent soft drink consumption can contribute to increases in aggressive behavior over time, while also highlighting reciprocal effects in which existing aggression can lead to higher soda intake. The evidence did not support a causal role for soft drinks in developing depressive symptoms.
Co‑authors on the study include LaRita C. Jones, Ph.D., Marc N. Elliott, Ph.D., Susan R. Tortolero, Ph.D., Melissa F. Peskin, Ph.D., and Mark A. Schuster, M.D., Ph.D.
About this research
Source:
American Heart Association
Contacts:
Shannon Thomason – University of Alabama at Birmingham
Image Source:
Image credited to UAB.
Original Research: Closed access. DOI: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.05.034. “Soft Drink Consumption and Mental Health in Adolescents: A Longitudinal Examination” by Sylvie Mrug et al., Journal of Adolescent Health.
Abstract
Soft Drink Consumption and Mental Health in Adolescents: A Longitudinal Examination
Purpose
Previous research has linked soft drink consumption with mental health problems in adolescents, but the direction of effects remained unclear. This study tested whether soft drink intake predicts later aggression and depressive symptoms and whether those mental health problems predict later soft drink consumption.
Methods
Interviews with 5,147 children and their caregivers were conducted across three sites when children were ages 11, 13 and 16. At each wave, youth reported soft drink frequency, aggressive behavior and depressive symptoms. An autoregressive cross‑lagged path model examined reciprocal relationships over time, while adjusting for relevant covariates.
Results
Frequent soft drink consumption correlated with higher levels of aggressive behavior at each assessment and with depressive symptoms at ages 11 and 13 (r = .04 to .18, p ≤ .002). After accounting for covariates and prior levels of each behavior, soft drink consumption at ages 11 and 13 predicted increases in aggressive behavior at the subsequent time point (β = .08 and .06, p < .001). Aggressive behavior at 13 predicted increased soft drink consumption at 16 (β = .06, p = .002). Soft drink consumption at 13 predicted slightly fewer depressive symptoms (β = −.04, p = .007), but depressive symptoms did not predict later soft drink intake.
Conclusions
The findings indicate that frequent soft drink consumption may contribute to increased aggressive behavior during adolescence, with some evidence of reciprocal influence. There was no support for soft drink consumption leading to higher rates of adolescent depression. Future studies should investigate these relationships across shorter intervals and explore mechanisms that could explain how sugar‑sweetened beverage intake affects behavior.