Is Soft Drink Consumption Linked to Higher Body Mass Index and Energy Intake Among Adults in Mauritius?

Abstract

The World Health Organisation recommends people to keep their calorie intake from soft drink (SD) less than 10% of their daily calorie intake. Even though, calorie intake from soft drink consumption is low, there is an increase in the frequency of consumption. Also, besides, it is well understood that change in weight is not only dependent on soft drink consumption but also factors such as calorie intake and physical activity. The objective of this study is to investigate SD consumption and its association with BMI, physical activity and calorie intake among adults. 511 adults aged 20-60 years (208 male and 303 female) were recruited. The questionnaire used to elicit information included 3-day 24-hour dietary recall, physical activity habits and soft drink consumption. Anthropometric measurements (height, weight and waist circumference) were also taken. The data was analysed using SPSS version 2.0. Chi-square tests, Person coefficient test, and Spearman’s correlation tests were used to infer any relationships between variables. The mean daily calorie intake among the population is 2501 ± 86.46 Kcal/day. Energy intake by both genders is within the range recommended by USDA (males: 2182 ± 33.48 Kcal/day and female: 1925 ± 28.55 Kcal/day). BMI is slightly higher among female 25.00 ± kg/m^2 as compared to male 24.73 kg/m^2. Mean Energy intake from SD is found to be 88.57 ± 3.37 Kcal/day that accounts for 3.54% of the daily calorie intake and hence in line with the WHO recommendation. A significant association is seen between SD consumption and BMI (P= 0.02), however obesity and overweight is seen to be independent of SD consumption. Furthermore, a positive correlation wasfound between SD consumption and physical activity (P=0.01) and it is observed that 26.3 % of the population who had a sedentary lifestyle are overweight. No association was found between calorie intake and SD consumption (P= 0.731) since the percentage calorie from SD does not exceed the recommendation of WHO. A significant relationship is found between SD consumption and BMI. However, it is observed that physical activity has a higher influence on BMI independent of calorie intake and soft drink consumption. Even though soft drink is reported herein not influence on the prevalence of obesity and overweight, long-term soft drink consumption can result in health problems related to obesity.