Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption, Contributing Factor, and Weight Outcomes in Adolescents: A Scoping Review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.26699/jnk..v13i1.ART.p001-027Keywords:
Adolescents, Obesity, Sugar-Sweetened Beverages, SBB, Scoping ReviewAbstract
High consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) is strongly associated with adolescent obesity and related conditions, including type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease. This pattern is driven by easy access, low cost, and aggressive marketing, especially in developing countries. Understanding the determinants of SSB intake and its effects on weight is essential for guiding public health strategies. This study aims to explore evidence on SSB consumption, its contributing factors, and its relationship with weight-related outcomes among adolescents. A scoping review was conducted using PubMed, Scopus, Embase, MEDLINE (Ovid), and Web of Science, with additional manual searches via Google Scholar. Keywords included “Adolescents,” “Sugar-Sweetened Beverages,” and “Obesity.” Studies were included if they involved adolescents consuming SSBs. A total of 34 studies with 218,767 adolescent participants were analyzed. SSB consumption varied and was influenced by factors such as availability at home and school, peer influence, and health knowledge. High intake was consistently linked to increased obesity risk, with frequent consumers showing higher BMI. Reducing SSB access at home and school, along with improving awareness, emerged as important strategies to limit adverse health impacts. Elevated SSB consumption among adolescents is closely linked to overweight and obesity. Targeted interventions, including early screening, educational initiatives for adolescents and parents, and policies restricting availability in schools and communities, are needed to reduce intake and associated health risks.
References
Al-Khudairy, L., Uthman, O. A., Walmsley, R., Johnson, S., & Oyebode, O. (2019). Choice architecture interventions to improve diet and/or dietary behaviour by healthcare staff in high-income countries: A systematic review. In BMJ Open (Vol. 9, Number 1). BMJ Publishing Group. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2018-023687
Ames, S. L., Wurpts, I. C., Pike, J. R., MacKinnon, D. P., Reynolds, K. R., & Stacy, A. W. (2016). Self-regulation interventions to reduce consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages in adolescents. Appetite, 105, 652–662. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2016.06.036
Atar, A., & Hizli-Guldemir, H. (2025). Beverage Consumption Habits in Adolescents: Factors Related to Consumption and Preference of Sugary Drinks. Current Nutrition & Food Science, 21. https://doi.org/10.2174/0115734013355075250130114400
Bailey-Davis, L., Rathi, N., Haynes-Maslow, L., Ray, S., & Giombi, K. (2022). Perceptions of sugar-sweetened beverages among adolescents in North Carolina. Frontiers in Public Health. www.ncstepstohealth.org
Beaulieu, D., Vézina-Im, L. A., Turcotte, S., Guillaumie, L., Boucher, D., Douville, F., & Simard, D. (2020). Correlates of sugar-sweetened beverages consumption among adolescents. Public Health Nutrition, 23(12), 2145–2154. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980019005147
Bradbury-Jones, C., Aveyard, H., Herber, O. R., Isham, L., Taylor, J., & O’Malley, L. (2022). Scoping reviews: the PAGER framework for improving the quality of reporting. International Journal of Social Research Methodology, 25(4), 457–470. https://doi.org/10.1080/13645579.2021.1899596
Brownbill, A. L., Miller, C. L., & Braunack-Mayer, A. J. (2018). The marketing of sugar-sweetened beverages to young people on Facebook. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 42(4), 354–360. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12801
Calcaterra, V., Cena, H., Magenes, V. C., Vincenti, A., Comola, G., Beretta, A., Di Napoli, I., & Zuccotti, G. (2023). Sugar-Sweetened Beverages and Metabolic Risk in Children and Adolescents with Obesity: A Narrative Review. Nutrients, 15(3), 702. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15030702
Chaffee, B. W., Werts, M., White, J. S., Couch, E. T., Urata, J., Cheng, J., & Kearns, C. (2021). Beverage Advertisement Receptivity Associated With Sugary Drink Intake and Harm Perceptions Among California Adolescents. American Journal of Health Promotion, 35(4), 525–532. https://doi.org/10.1177/0890117120969057
Chatelan, A., Rouche, M., Dzielska, A., Lebacq, T., Fismen, A. S., Kelly, C., Zaborskis, A., Kopcakova, J., Tsareva, A., Kalman, M., & Castetbon, K. (2021). Time trends in consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and related socioeconomic differences among adolescents in Eastern Europe: Signs of a nutrition transition? American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 114(4), 1476–1485. https://doi.org/10.1093/ajcn/nqab175
Chiu, S., Siri-Tarino, P., Bergeron, N., Suh, J. H., & Krauss, R. M. (2020). A randomized study of the effect of replacing sugar-sweetened soda by reduced fat milk on cardiometabolic health in male adolescent soda drinkers. Nutrients, 12(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12020405
Cruz, J., Palma, H., Marshall, C. D., Castellon-Lopez, Y., Datta, G. D., & Torres, V. (2025). Mapping behavioural interventions to reduce sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption among US adults: a scoping review protocol. BMJ Open, 15(9), e096007. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2024-096007
Daeli, W. A. C., & Nurwahyuni, A. (2019). Determinan Sosial Ekonomi Konsumsi Minuman Berpemanis di Indonesia: Analisis Data Susenas 2017. Jurnal Ekonomi Kesehatan Indonesia, 4(1). https://doi.org/10.7454/eki.v4i1.3066
Doan, S. N., Xie, B., Zhou, Y., Lei, X., & Reynolds, K. D. (2022). Loneliness and cravings for sugar-sweetened beverages among adolescents. Pediatric Obesity, 17(1). https://doi.org/10.1111/ijpo.12834
English, L., Carmona, Y. R., Peterson, K. E., Jansen, E. C., Rojo, M. M. T., Olascoaga, L. T., & Cantoral, A. (2022). Changes in Sugar Sweetened Beverage Intake Are Associated with Changes in Body Composition in Mexican Adolescents: Findings from the ELEMENT Cohort. Nutrients, 14(3). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu14030719
Fajarini, I. A., Matsuzaki, M., Ruggiero, C. F., Wensel, C. R., Chung, S., Hopkins, L., Poirier, L., Colón-Ramos, U., & Gittelsohn, J. (2021). Low healthy diet self-efficacy and intentions associated with high sweet snacks and sugar sweetened beverages consumption among african american adolescents recruited from low-income neighborhoods in baltimore. Nutrients, 13(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13124516
Ferretti, F., & Mariani, M. (2019). Sugar-sweetened beverage affordability and the prevalence of overweight and obesity in a cross section of countries. Globalization and Health, 15(1). https://doi.org/10.1186/s12992-019-0474-x
Fuster, M., Wang, Y., Stoecker, C., Rose, D., Hofmann, L. P., Pasterz, A., & Knapp, M. (2025). Factors Associated with High Sugary Beverage Intake Among Children in Louisiana: A Survey of Caregivers in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. Nutrients, 17(5), 799. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17050799
Gan, W. Y., Mohamed, S. F., & Law, L. S. (2019). Unhealthy lifestyle associated with higher intake of sugar-sweetened beverages among malaysian school-aged adolescents. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 16(15). https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph16152785
Gascoyne, C., Scully, M., Wakefield, M., & Morley, B. (2021). Food and drink marketing on social media and dietary intake in Australian adolescents: Findings from a cross-sectional survey. Appetite, 166. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105431
Godin, K. M., Chacón, V., Barnoya, J., & Leatherdale, S. T. (2017). The school environment and sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among Guatemalan adolescents. Public Health Nutrition, 20(16), 2980–2987. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980017001926
Gui, Z. H., Zhu, Y. N., Cai, L., Sun, F. H., Ma, Y. H., Jing, J., & Chen, Y. J. (2017). Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and risks of obesity and hypertension in chinese Children and adolescents: A national cross-sectional analysis. Nutrients, 9(12). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu9121302
Ha, K., Chung, S., Lee, H. S., Kim, C. Il, Joung, H., Paik, H. Y., & Song, Y. J. (2016). Association of dietary sugars and sugar-sweetened beverage intake with obesity in Korean children and adolescents. Nutrients, 8(1). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu8010031
Hardy, L. L., Bell, J., Bauman, A., & Mihrshahi, S. (2018). Association between adolescents’ consumption of total and different types of sugar-sweetened beverages with oral health impacts and weight status. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 42(1), 22–26. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.12749
Hollands, G. J., Carter, P., Anwer, S., King, S. E., Jebb, S. A., Ogilvie, D., Shemilt, I., Higgins, J. P. T., & Marteau, T. M. (2019). Altering the availability or proximity of food, alcohol, and tobacco products to change their selection and consumption. Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews, 2019(8). https://doi.org/10.1002/14651858.cd012573.pub3
Ilkes, J., Jurnal, (, Kesehatan, I., Aisyiyah, S. A., Pratamamningtyas, S., Sendra, E., & Wijayanti, L. A. (2024). Hubungan Konsumsi Sugar-Sweetened Beverages dan Aktivitas Fisik dengan Indeks Massa Tubuh pada Remaja Putri. 15(2).
Jensen, M. M., Friis, K., Maindal, H. T., Hargaard, A.-S., Knudsen, M. G., Grønkjaer, M. S., & Lasgaard, M. (2025). Loneliness is associated with adverse health behaviour and obesity: a Danish population-based study of 122,258 individuals. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 375. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-21490-4
Johansen, C., Reynolds, K. D., Xie, B., & Palmer, P. (2020). An Examination of Family Variables as Mediators of the Association of Acculturation with Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption among Latinx Adolescents. Family and Community Health, 43(4), 287–295. https://doi.org/10.1097/FCH.0000000000000278
Malik, V. S., & Hu, F. B. (2019). Sugar-sweetened beverages and cardiometabolic health: An update of the evidence. In Nutrients (Vol. 11, Number 8). MDPI AG. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11081840
Malik, V. S., Li, Y., Pan, A., De Koning, L., Schernhammer, E., Willett, W. C., & Hu, F. B. (2019). Long-Term Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened and Artificially Sweetened Beverages and Risk of Mortality in US Adults. Circulation, 139(18), 2113–2125. https://doi.org/10.1161/CIRCULATIONAHA.118.037401
Malik, Z. I., Shah, S. H. B. U., Zafar, S., Farooq, U., Abid, J., & Ahmad, A. M. R. (2025). A narrative review on the relationship between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and post-partum non-communicable diseases among women. Frontiers in Public Health, 13. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpubh.2025.1663238
Mohd Saat, N. Z., Abd Talib, R., Alarsan, S. F., Saadeh, N., & Shahrour, G. (2023). Risk Factors of Overweight and Obesity Among School Children Aged 6 to 18 Years: A Scoping Review. Nutrition and Dietary Supplements, Volume 15, 63–76. https://doi.org/10.2147/nds.s420370
Munn, Z., Pollock, D., Khalil, H., Alexander, L., Mclnerney, P., Godfrey, C. M., Peters, M., & Tricco, A. C. (2022). What are scoping reviews? Providing a formal definition of scoping reviews as a type of evidence synthesis. JBI Evidence Synthesis, 20(4), 950–952. https://doi.org/10.11124/JBIES-21-00483
Nadhira Winindya Sari, Kusharisupeni Djokosujono, Diah Mulyawati Utari, & Neni Rohayati. (2022). Availability of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages at Home as The Dominant Factor Related to Its Consumption Among Students of SMAN (State High School) 47 Jakarta, Indonesia, in 2022. Indonesian Journal of Public Health Nutrition, 3(1), 32–42.
Ooi, J. Y., Wolfenden, L., Sutherland, R., Nathan, N., Oldmeadow, C., Mclaughlin, M., Barnes, C., Hall, A., Vanderlee, L., & Yoong, S. L. (2022). A Systematic Review of the Recent Consumption Levels of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Children and Adolescents From the World Health Organization Regions With High Dietary–Related Burden of Disease. In Asia-Pacific Journal of Public Health (Vol. 34, Number 1, pp. 11–24). SAGE Publications Inc. https://doi.org/10.1177/10105395211014642
Ooi, J. Y., Wolfenden, L., Yoong, S. L., Janssen, L. M., Reilly, K., Nathan, N., & Sutherland, R. (2021). A trial of a six-month sugar-sweetened beverage intervention in secondary schools from a socio-economically disadvantaged region in Australia. Australian and New Zealand Journal of Public Health, 45(6), 599–607. https://doi.org/10.1111/1753-6405.13159
Ortega-Avila, A. G., Papadaki, A., & Jago, R. (2019). The role of the home environment in sugar-sweetened beverage intake among northern Mexican adolescents: a qualitative study. Journal of Public Health (Germany), 27(6), 791–801. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10389-018-0993-6
Pabayo, R., Dias, J., Hemenway, D., & Molnar, B. E. (2016). Sweetened beverage consumption is a risk factor for depressive symptoms among adolescents living in Boston, Massachusetts, USA. Public Health Nutrition, 19(17), 3062–3069. https://doi.org/10.1017/S1368980016001828
Pamarta, D., Suminah, -, & Sumardiyono, -. (2022). Relationship between Peer Influence and Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages in Adolescents. International Journal of Human and Health Sciences (IJHHS), 6(3), 289. https://doi.org/10.31344/ijhhs.v6i3.460
Park, H.-Y., Ryu, S. R., Park, H.-K., Hwang, H.-S., & Park, K.-Y. (2025). Behavioral and psychosocial factors associated with sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among Korean adolescents: a path analysis using the 2022 Korea Youth Risk Behavior Survey. Epidemiology and Health, 47, e2025047. https://doi.org/10.4178/epih.e2025047
Park, S., Lee, S. H., Merlo, C., & Blanck, H. M. (2023). Associations between Knowledge of Health Risks and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake among US Adolescents. Nutrients, 15(10). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15102408
Pepping, R., Waterlander, W., Groot, B., Kistemaker, S., Verhoeff, A. P., Seidell, J. C., & Busch, V. (2025). ‘Soft drinks are normal’: understanding the lived experiences of Dutch teenagers with respect to sugar-sweetened beverages: a qualitative context-mapping study. BMC Public Health, 25(1), 925. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-025-22167-8
Qin, P., Li, Q., Zhao, Y., Chen, Q., Sun, X., Liu, Y., Li, H., Wang, T., Chen, X., Zhou, Q., Guo, C., Zhang, D., Tian, G., Liu, D., Qie, R., Han, M., Huang, S., Wu, X., Li, Y., … Zhang, M. (2020). Sugar and artificially sweetened beverages and risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes mellitus, hypertension, and all-cause mortality: a dose–response meta-analysis of prospective cohort studies. European Journal of Epidemiology, 35(7), 655–671. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10654-020-00655-y
Ra, J. S., & Kim, S. H. (2025). Socioecological factors influencing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among adolescents in South Korea: a cross-sectional study. Child Health Nursing Research, 31(1), 28–39. https://doi.org/10.4094/chnr.2024.041
Rauzon, S., Randel-Schreiber, H., Kuo, E., Schwartz, P., Reed, A. L., & Thompson, H. R. (2020). The association between sugar-sweetened beverage availability in school vending machines and school staff sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Preventive Medicine Reports, 19, 101128. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmedr.2020.101128
Rocha, L. L., Pessoa, M. C., Gratão, L. H. A., Carmo, A. S. do, Cordeiro, N. G., Cunha, C. de F., Oliveira, T. R. P. R. de, & Mendes, L. L. (2021). Characteristics of the School Food Environment Affect the Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Among Adolescents. Frontiers in Nutrition, 8. https://doi.org/10.3389/fnut.2021.742744
Salleh, R., Zainuddin, A. A., Md Yusof, S., Man, C. S., Ahmad, M. H., Aziz, N. S. A., Palaniveloo, L., Baharudin, A., & Wong, N. I. (2021). Factors associated with sugar-sweetened beverages consumption among Malaysian adolescents: findings from the Adolescent Nutrition Survey 2017. Malaysian Journal of Nutrition, 27(1), 177–187. https://doi.org/10.31246/MJN-2020-0040
Sampasa-Kanyinga, H., & Chaput, J. P. (2016). Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and energy drinks and adherence to physical activity and screen time recommendations among adolescents. International Journal of Adolescent Medicine and Health, 29(5). https://doi.org/10.1515/ijamh-2015-0098
Sampasa-Kanyinga, H., Hamilton, H. A., & Chaput, J. P. (2017). Sleep duration and consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and energy drinks among adolescents. Nutrition, 48, 77–81. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nut.2017.11.013
Shamim, A. A., Hossain, M. M., Akter, F., Urmy, N. J., Hanif, A. A. M., Hasan, M., Khan, M. S. A., Ullah, M. A., Bulbul, Md. M. I., & Mridha, M. K. (2023). Unhealthy Foods and Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Consumption Among Bangladeshi Adolescents and Their Sociodemographic Determinants: Findings From a Nationally Representative Cross-Sectional Study. Cureus. https://doi.org/10.7759/cureus.41262
Skeie, G., Sandvær, V., & Grimnes, G. (2019). Intake of sugar-sweetened beverages in adolescents from Troms, Norway—The Tromsø study: Fit futures. Nutrients, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11020211
Sylvetsky, A. C., Visek, A. J., Turvey, C., Halberg, S., Weisenberg, J. R., Lora, K., & Sacheck, J. (2020). Parental concerns about child and adolescent caffeinated sugar-sweetened beverage intake and perceived barriers to reducing consumption. Nutrients, 12(4). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12040885
Tang, N., Li, J., & Zhang, Z. (2025). Associations between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, moderate-to-vigorous physical activity duration and psychological symptoms in adolescents: A nationwide study in China. Journal of Affective Disorders, 380, 26–36. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jad.2025.03.069
Teng, N. I. M. F., Juliana, N., Izlin, N. L., & Semaon, N. Z. (2020). Knowledge, attitude and practices of sugar-sweetened beverages: A cross-sectional study among adolescents in Selangor, Malaysia. Nutrients, 12(12), 1–13. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu12123617
Valenzuela, M. J., Waterhouse, B., Aggarwal, V. R., Bloor, K., & Doran, T. (2021). Effect of sugar-sweetened beverages on oral health: A systematic review and meta-Analysis. In European Journal of Public Health (Vol. 31, Number 1, pp. 122–129). Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckaa147
Wang, C. W., & Chen, D. R. (2022). Associations of sugar-sweetened beverage knowledge, self-efficacy, and perceived benefits and barriers with sugar-sweetened beverage consumption in adolescents: A structural equation modeling approach. Appetite, 168. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2021.105663
Wang, R., Guo, S., Yang, G., & Li, J. (2025). Associations between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, weight-adjusted-waist index, with psychological symptoms: a cross-sectional survey of adolescents in mainland China. Frontiers in Psychiatry, 16. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyt.2025.1558919
Wattelez, G., Frayon, S., Cavaloc, Y., Cherrier, S., Lerrant, Y., & Galy, O. (2019). Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and associated factors in school-going adolescents of New Caledonia. Nutrients, 11(2). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu11020452
Watts, A. W., Miller, J., Larson, N. I., Eisenberg, M. E., Story, M. T., & Neumark-Sztainer, D. (2018). Multicontextual correlates of adolescent sugar-sweetened beverage intake. Eating Behaviors, 30, 42–48. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.eatbeh.2018.04.003
Yu, J., Huang, F., Zhang, X., Xue, H., Ni, X., Yang, J., Zou, Z., & Du, W. (2023). Association of Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Moderate-to-Vigorous Physical Activity with Childhood and Adolescent Overweight/Obesity: Findings from a Surveillance Project in Jiangsu Province of China. Nutrients, 15(19), 4164. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu15194164
Yuhas, M., Porter, K. J., Hedrick, V., & Zoellner, J. M. (2020). Using a Socioecological Approach to Identify Factors Associated with Adolescent Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake. Journal of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, 120(9), 1557–1567. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jand.2020.01.019
Zafar, T. A., Alkazemi, D. U. Z., Muthafar, H., Alanzi, H., & Sidhu, J. S. (2025). Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Consumption and Associated Health Risks Awareness Among University Students in Kuwait: A Cross-Sectional Study. Nutrients, 17(10), 1646. https://doi.org/10.3390/nu17101646
Zhang, C. Q., Wong, M. C. Y., Zhang, R., Hamilton, K., & Hagger, M. S. (2019). Adolescent sugar-sweetened beverage consumption: An extended Health Action Process Approach. Appetite, 141. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appet.2019.104332
Zhang, K., Guhn, M., & Conklin, A. I. (2023). Association between social jetlag and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) in adolescents in Western Canada. European Journal of Public Health, 33(2), 287–292. https://doi.org/10.1093/eurpub/ckac177
Zhu, Z., Luo, C., Qu, S., Wei, X., Feng, J., Zhang, S., Wang, Y., & Su, J. (2021). Effects of school-based interventions on reducing sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among chinese children and adolescents. Nutrients, 13(6). https://doi.org/10.3390/nu13061862
Downloads
Published
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Jurnal Ners dan Kebidanan (Journal of Ners and Midwifery)

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International License.



