Associations between Parental Limits, School Vending Machine Purchases, and Soft Drink Consumption among Kentucky Middle School Students
published online 25 January 2010.
Abstract
Objective
To examine associations between parental limits on soft drinks and purchasing soft drinks from school vending machines and consuming soft drinks among middle school students.
Design
Secondary analysis of cross-sectional data from the middle school Youth Risk Behavior Survey.
Setting
Eight public middle schools in central Kentucky.
Participants
All sixth- through eighth-grade students in 7 schools and all eighth-grade students in 1 school (n = 4,049).
Variables Measured
Self-reported parental limits on soft drink intake, school vending machine soft drink purchases, soft drink consumption, and control variables.
Analysis
Chi-square and binary logistic regression analyses.
Results
Compared to students with no parental limits on soft drink consumption, students with the strictest limits were less likely to purchase soft drinks from school vending machines and consume soft drinks; conversely, students with minor parental limitations were more likely to consume soft drinks. The odds of consuming soft drinks were nearly 4 times greater when students purchased soft drinks from school vending machines than when they did not.
Conclusions and Implications
Further research may enhance understanding of the influence of varying degrees of parental limitations. Efforts to reduce children's soft drink consumption may be augmented by policies limiting soft drink purchases in schools.
1Department of Health Science, College of Human Environmental Sciences, The University of Alabama, Tuscaloosa, AL
2Department of Nutrition and Food Science, University of Kentucky, Lexington, KY
3Institute for Families in Society, University of South Carolina, Columbia, SC
Address for correspondence: Jen Nickelson, PhD, RD, LDN, The University of Alabama, College of Human Environmental Sciences, Department of Health Science, Box 870311, East Annex Building, Tuscaloosa, AL 35487-0311; Phone: (205) 348-2956
This study was conducted at the University of South Florida, College of Public Health, Tampa, FL.
ABSTRACT