The Association of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages to Children’s Weights Status Is Moderated by Frequency of Adding Sugars and Sleep Hours

Abstract

Adding extra sugars in milk and the moderating effect of sleep has yet to be investigated, setting the aim of this study. A total of 1361 school-aged children were included, aged 10–12 years old, by randomly sampling schools. Data were interview-obtained by trained personnel using a validated 17-item food frequency questionnaire, with specifics on type of milk and extra sugar additions. Analyses were stratified by average recommended hours of sleep. Predictive probability margins were obtained following necessary adjustments. Mean BMI was significantly lower, the level of SSB intake was higher, and the prevalence of adding sugars to milk four or more times per week was higher in children that slept ≥10 h. Most children (64%) consumed full fat milk, 21% had low fat, and 19.7% chocolate milk, with a significantly larger proportion of overweight or obese children consuming full fat or chocolate milk, also adding extra sugars four or more times per week (4.1% compared to 9.6%, and 12.2% compared to 39.5%, respectively). The predictive probability of being overweight or obese exponentially increased for children consuming >0.5 SSB/day while also adding sugars to their milk frequently, although this effect remained significant only for children sleeping <10 h/day. In conclusion, to accurately address the effect of SSBs on children’s body weight, frequency of any type of sugar addition in milk should be accounted for, as well as average sleep hours that may further moderate the effect.