title: Young adults' responses to alternative messages describing a sugar-sweetened beverage price increase.
abstract: Many jurisdictions in the USA and globally are considering raising the prices of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) through taxes as a strategy to reduce their consumption. The objective of the present study was to identify whether the rationale provided for an SSB price increase affects young adults' behavioural intentions and attitudes towards SSB.
  
  
  
  Participants were randomly assigned to receive one of eight SSB price increase rationales. Intentions to purchase SSB and attitudes about the product and policy were measured.
  
  
  
  A forty-six-item cross-sectional Internet survey.
  
  
  
  Undergraduate students (n 494) at a large US Midwestern university.
  
  
  
  Rationale type was significantly associated with differences in participants' purchasing intentions for the full sample (F 7,485=2·53, P=0·014). Presenting the rationale for an SSB price increase as a user fee, an effort to reduce obesity, a strategy to offset health-care costs or to protect children led to lower SSB purchasing intentions compared with a message with no rationale. Rationale type was also significantly associated with differences in perceptions of soda companies (F 7,485=2·10, P=0·043); among low consumers of SSB, messages describing the price increase as a user fee or tax led to more negative perceptions of soda companies.
  
  
  
  The rationale attached to an SSB price increase could influence consumers. However, these message effects may depend on individuals' level of SSB consumption.
authors.affiliation: 1Division of Health Policy and Management,University of Minnesota School of Public Health,420 Delaware Street SE,MMC 729,Minneapolis,MN 55455,USA.
authors.forename: Sarah E
authors.initials: SE
authors.lastname: Gollust
authors.affiliation: 1Division of Health Policy and Management,University of Minnesota School of Public Health,420 Delaware Street SE,MMC 729,Minneapolis,MN 55455,USA.
authors.forename: Xuyang
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Tang
authors.affiliation: 2Department of Agricultural Economics,University of Wisconsin River Falls,River Falls,WI,USA.
authors.forename: James M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: White
authors.affiliation: 3Division of Epidemiology and Community Health,University of Minnesota School of Public Health,Minneapolis,MN,USA.
authors.forename: Simone A
authors.initials: SA
authors.lastname: French
authors.affiliation: 4Department of Applied Economics,University of Minnesota,St. Paul,MN,USA.
authors.forename: Carlisle Ford
authors.initials: CF
authors.lastname: Runge
authors.affiliation: 5Department of Psychology,University of Minnesota,Minneapolis,MN,USA.
authors.forename: Alexander J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Rothman
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D000328:Adult; D001628:Beverages / Q000191:economics*; D003132:Commerce; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D004032:Diet; D000073417:Dietary Sugars / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics*; D005260:Female; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D064427:Nutritive Sweeteners / Q000008:administration & dosage / Q000191:economics*; D009765:Obesity / Q000191:economics / Q000628:therapy; D012959:Socioeconomic Factors; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013660:Taxes; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000073417:Dietary Sugars; D064427:Nutritive Sweeteners
keywords: Communication; Policy; Sugar-sweetened beverage; Tax