The Relationship Between Sugar- Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Obesity in Adolescents

Aim: This research was conducted to determine the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and obesity in adolescents. Material and Methods: The universe of this research, which is planned as descriptive and relationship-seeker type, consists of all students in a state high school and a private high school in Konya. It was aimed to reach all the students (N:412) constituting the universewithout going to the sample selection in the research but 361 students were reached. A questionnaire form, beverage consumption information form and anthropometric measurement form were used in order to collect the data. In the analysis of the data; number, percentage, mean, standard deviation, Mann Whitney U, Kruskal Wallis, Chi square test and Spearman correlation analysis were used. Results: The average age of adolescents was 15.88 ± 1.06 and 52,9% were male. The obesity prevalence was determined as 9,7%. The adolescents reported that they consumed the most tea (88.4%), cola (82.0%), ready-made fruit juice (75.9%) and coffee (75.1%). Adolescents who havesugar-sweetened beveragesin the fridge, and who have a habit of consuming sugarsweetened beverage between meals consume significantly more sugar-sweetened beverages. Conclusion: A statistically significant relationship was found betweenweightand consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages. Adolescents and the people around them should be educated on the effects of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.