Zaltz Daniel A, Prowse Rachel, Yi Yanqing, O'Dea Jessica, Harding Scott V
Department of Nutritional Sciences, University of Toronto Temerty Faculty of Medicine, Toronto, ON, Canada.
Division of Population Health and Applied Health Sciences, Faculty of Medicine, Memorial University, St. John's, NL, Canada.
BMC Public Health. 2025 Mar 31;25(1):1226. doi: 10.1186/s12889-025-22432-w.
Lawmakers in Newfoundland and Labrador (NL) recently passed Canada's first sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) tax. SSB tax evaluations rely on detailed understandings of beverage consumption patterns prior to policy implementation, but there is no recent literature about such patterns among NL residents during the pre-tax period.
We recruited a convenience sample of NL adults ages 19 and older and measured participant characteristics via online surveys and beverage intake via previously-validated, semi-quantitative beverage frequency questionnaires. We generated inverse probability weights of sample selection using the Canadian Census as a representative reference sample. We described the weighted prevalence and intake among consumers of taxable SSBs (e.g., regular pop), non-taxable SSBs (e.g., sweetened milk), diet (non-nutritive sweetened) beverages and unsweetened beverages (including 100% juice). We explored weighted bivariate associations between consumption of beverages and sociodemographic characteristics identified as potential correlates of SSB intake.
The sample (n = 1233) was 65% female, 57% between ages 30-59 years, and nearly all (94%) white. More than half (57.3%) consumed taxable SSBs weekly, and 23.2% consumed non-taxable SSBs weekly. The most-consumed (highest volume) taxable SSB was regular pop (weighted mean (SD) 2.3 (3.5) L/week); the most-consumed non-taxable SSB was sweetened, flavoured milk (mean (SD) 1.2 2.0) L/week). We found independent differences in consumption patterns (prevalence, mean intake among consumers) across each beverage category. People who were younger, had fewer years of education, reported income below the poverty threshold, or reported experiencing food insecurity had a higher prevalence and mean intake among consumers of taxable SSBs. People with fewer years of education or those who reported experiencing food insecurity had a lower prevalence and mean intake among consumers of unsweetened beverages.
Our findings align with prior studies of socioeconomic position and SSB consumption in Canada, which collectively demonstrate that, on average, those with less education and income consume more SSBs and fewer unsweetened beverages. This research provides necessary understanding of social patterning of beverage consumption in NL prior to tax implementation. Post-tax evaluations of this policy should investigate potential impacts of the tax on diet and health equity, as well as potential beverage substitutions towards other beverage categories.
纽芬兰和拉布拉多省（NL）的立法者最近通过了加拿大首个含糖饮料税。含糖饮料税的评估依赖于对政策实施前饮料消费模式的详细了解，但目前尚无关于税前时期NL居民此类模式的近期文献。
我们招募了19岁及以上的NL成年人便利样本，通过在线调查测量参与者特征，并通过先前验证的半定量饮料频率问卷测量饮料摄入量。我们使用加拿大人口普查作为代表性参考样本生成样本选择的逆概率权重。我们描述了应税含糖饮料（如普通汽水）、非应税含糖饮料（如加糖牛奶）、低糖（非营养甜味剂）饮料和无糖饮料（包括100%果汁）消费者的加权患病率和摄入量。我们探讨了饮料消费与确定为含糖饮料摄入量潜在相关因素的社会人口学特征之间的加权双变量关联。
样本（n = 1233）中65%为女性，57%年龄在30 - 59岁之间，几乎全部（94%）为白人。超过一半（57.3%）的人每周饮用应税含糖饮料，23.2%的人每周饮用非应税含糖饮料。消费最多（饮用量最大）的应税含糖饮料是普通汽水（加权均值（标准差）2.3（3.5）升/周）；消费最多的非应税含糖饮料是调味加糖牛奶（均值（标准差）1.2（2.0）升/周）。我们发现各饮料类别在消费模式（患病率、消费者中的平均摄入量）上存在独立差异。年龄较小、受教育年限较少、报告收入低于贫困线或报告经历粮食不安全的人群，应税含糖饮料消费者中的患病率和平均摄入量较高。受教育年限较少或报告经历粮食不安全的人群，无糖饮料消费者中的患病率和平均摄入量较低。
我们的研究结果与加拿大先前关于社会经济地位和含糖饮料消费的研究一致，这些研究共同表明，平均而言，受教育程度和收入较低的人群饮用更多的含糖饮料和更少的无糖饮料。这项研究为税收实施前NL饮料消费的社会模式提供了必要的了解。对该政策的税后评估应调查税收对饮食和健康公平性的潜在影响，以及向其他饮料类别潜在的饮料替代情况。
