title: Racial and gender disparities in sugar consumption change efficacy among first-year college students.
abstract: Reducing excess dietary sugar intake among emerging adults involves replacing sugar sweetened beverages (SSBs) and sugary snacks (SSN) with healthier options. Few studies have assessed the perceived degree of difficulty associated with making lifestyle modifications among a diverse group of emerging adults. The purpose of this study was to assess race and gender disparities in SSB and SSN behavioral modification efficacy among African American and White first year college students. A self-administered, cross-sectional survey was completed by a subsample of freshmen (n = 499) at a medium-sized southern university. Key outcome variables were self-efficacy in reducing consumption of SSBs and SSNs, respectively. Primary independent variables were BMI, concerns about weight, and attempts to lose weight, takeout food consumption frequency, and physical activity. Half of the sample was African American (50.1%) and a majority of participants were female (59.3%). Fewer African Americans than Whites were very sure they could substitute SSBs with water (48.8% vs 64.7%, p < 0.001) or eat fewer SSNs (39.2% vs 48.2%, p < 0.04). A smaller segment of males reported being confident in their ability replace SSBs with water (51.2% vs 60.5%, p < 0.04). African Americans (OR = 0.38, CI: 0.22-0.64) and males (OR = 0.49, CI: 0.27-0.88) had lower odds of being more confident in their ability to change their SSB intake. Race and gender differences were not present in models predicting confidence to reduce SSN consumption. These findings highlight the need to consider race and gender in interventions seeking to increase self-efficacy to make lifestyle modifications.
authors.affiliation: Center for Research on Men's Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Center for Medicine, Health, and Society, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA. Electronic address: marino.bruce@vanderbilt.edu.
authors.forename: Marino A
authors.initials: MA
authors.lastname: Bruce
authors.affiliation: Myrlie Evers-Williams Institute for the Elimination of Health Disparities, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA; Department of Population Health Science, John D. Bower School of Population Health, University of Mississippi Medical Center, Jackson, MS, USA.
authors.forename: Bettina M
authors.initials: BM
authors.lastname: Beech
authors.affiliation: Program for Research on Men's Health, Hopkins Center for Health Disparities Solutions, Baltimore, MD, USA; Department of Health, Behavior, and Society, Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, MD, USA.
authors.forename: Roland J
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Thorpe
authors.affiliation: Department of Public Health Sciences, Xavier University, New Orleans, LA, USA.
authors.forename: Krista
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Mincey
authors.affiliation: Center for Research on Men's Health, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA; Center for Medicine, Health, and Society, Vanderbilt University, Nashville, TN, USA.
authors.forename: Derek M
authors.initials: DM
authors.lastname: Griffith
mesh_terms: D000293:Adolescent; D001741:Black or African American / Q000523:psychology; D001628:Beverages; D015992:Body Mass Index; D003430:Cross-Sectional Studies; D000073417:Dietary Sugars; D004435:Eating / Q000208:ethnology / Q000523:psychology*; D005260:Female; D054624:Health Status Disparities; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D020377:Self Efficacy; D012737:Sex Factors; D062410:Snacks / Q000523:psychology; D013334:Students / Q000523:psychology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D044465:White People / Q000523:psychology; D055815:Young Adult
chemical_list: D000073417:Dietary Sugars
keywords: Emerging adults; Gender disparities; Population health; Racial disparities; Self-efficacy; Sugar intake