ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Public Health
Sec. Public Health and Nutrition
Volume 13 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fpubh.2025.1661141
This article is part of the Research TopicUltra-Processed Foods: Impacts on Diet Quality, Health, Consumer Behavior, and Food SystemsView all 9 articles
Association between Peer Behaviors and Family Environment and Pre-packaged Sugar-sweetened Beverage Consumption among Primary and Secondary School Students in Beijing
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Public Health, Hebei Medical University, Shijiazhuang, China
- 2Office of Research and Teaching Administration, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing, China
- 3Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Fengtai District Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing, China
- 4Institute of Nutrition and Food Hygiene, Beijing Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Beijing, China
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Background: Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption among children and adolescents remains high worldwide. In China, most studies have examined either peer or family influences, but few have assessed their combined effects, particularly for pre-packaged SSBs. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted among 2,317 primary and secondary school students in Beijing between October and November 2024. Students and their caregivers completed paired questionnaires on pre-packaged SSB consumption and potential influencing factors. Multivariable logistic regression was used to examine associations between peer and family factors and SSB consumption, adjusting for demographic and behavioral covariates. Results: In the past week, 81.9% of students consumed at least one type of pre-packaged SSB. With the increase of age, the intake of SSBs increased in children. Fruit/vegetable beverages were the most commonly consumed beverages for primary school students, and tea beverages were the most commonly consumed beverages for secondary school students. Peer-influenced purchasing behavior (OR:1.600,95% CI:1.318-1.941), peer-sharing behavior (OR:1.373,95% CI:1.106-1.704), household accessibility (OR:1.305,95% CI:1.085-1.570) and parental supportive attitudes towards SSBs (OR:2.246,95% CI:1.691-2.981) were associated with high consumption of SSBs. Similar associations were observed for carbonated beverages, tea beverages, milk beverages, and other categories, though effect sizes varied. Conclusion: Peer behaviors and family environments substantially influence pre-packaged SSB consumption among children and adolescents in Beijing. Targeted interventions should include banning SSB sales in school canteens, introducing warning labels on high-sugar beverages, and promoting parental education to reduce home availability.
Keywords: sugar-sweetened beverages, Children, Peer, Family, school-age
Received: 07 Jul 2025; Accepted: 12 Sep 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Li, Meng, Liang, Zhang, Li, Duan, Cao, Li and Huang. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence: Liyu Huang, liyu_huang0526@126.com
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