Background: Intakes of high sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in adults can escalate risk of metabolic syndrome (MetS); however, data of longitudinal studies in children and adolescents are lacking. In this study we assessed consumption of SSBs in relation to incidence of MetS among children and adolescents during a 3.6 year follow-up.
Methods: This study was a population-based longitudinal study, in which 424 subjects, aged 6-18 years, from the Tehran Lipid and Glucose Study with complete data on dietary intake, blood pressure, anthropometry, and biochemical indices were followed for 3.6 years. Dietary intake was collected using a valid and reliable food frequency questionnaire. MetS was defined according to the Cook criteria. Sugar sweetened beverages included all kinds of sugar sweetened carbonated soft drinks (SSSDs) and fruit juice drinks.
Results: Average daily intakes of SSSD and fruit juice drinks were 38.5 ± 75.0 and 32.3 ± 60.1 g, respectively. After adjustment for confounders, compared to the first quartile, the odds ratio of incident MetS in the highest quartile of SSB and SSSD was 3.20 (95 % CI: 1.06-9.90) and 3.01 (95 % CI: 1.17-7.74), respectively. Regarding incidence of MetS components, compared with the lowest quartile, the highest quartile of SSSDs showed odds ratios of 2.49 (95 % CI: 1.00-6.53) for abdominal obesity and 2.79 (95 % CI: 1.02-7.64) for hypertension. No significant association was found between consumption of fruit juice drink and SSSD with other components of MetS.
Conclusions: Children and adolescents with high intakes of carbonated beverages could be at increased risk of MetS, abdominal obesity, and hypertension.
Keywords: Adolescents; Children; Fruit juice drink; Metabolic syndrome; Sugar sweetened beverage; Sugar sweetened carbonated soft drink.