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Epidemiology and Population Health

Sugar-sweetened beverage intake and relative weight gain among South African adults living in resource-poor communities: longitudinal data from the STOP-SA study

International Journal of Obesity volume 43, pages 603–614 (2019)Cite this article

Subjects

Abstract

Objectives

This study examines the prospective association between sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) consumption and change in body weight over a 4–5-year period in a socio-economically disadvantaged South African population.

Methods

This is a longitudinal study involving 800 adults (212 men, 588 women); 247 from the original METS (Modelling the Epidemiological Transition Study) cohort (N = 504) and 553 of the original 949 members of the PURE (Prospective Urban and Rural Epidemiology) Study. Both cohorts were drawn from low-income, socio-economically disadvantaged communities. Mean follow-up duration and age were 4.5 (SD 0.45) and 50.0 (SD 11.8) years, respectively. Harmonised measurements included body mass index, self-reported moderate-to-vigorous physical activity, and intake of meat, snacks and ‘take-aways’, fruits and vegetables and SSB (in servings/week). Multivariate logistic regression models were developed to determine the extent to which SSB consumption predicted relative weight gain, after controlling for potential confounders and known predictors.

Results

Nearly a third (29%) of participants had a relative weight change ≥5.0%; higher in the non-obese compared to the obese group (32% vs. 25%; p = 0.026). The average SSB consumption was 9.9 servings/week and was higher in the food insecure compared to the food secure group (11.5 vs. 9.0 servings/week; p = 0.006); but there were no differences between women and men (10.3 vs. 9.1 servings/week; p = 0.054). Mean SSB consumption was higher in the group who gained ≥5% weight compared to those who did not (11.0 vs. 8.7; p = 0.004). After adjustment, SSB consumption of 10 or more servings/week was associated with a 50% greater odds of gaining at least 5% body weight (AOR: 1.50, 95% CI (1.05–2.18)).

Conclusion

These results show that higher intake of SSB predicts weight gain in a sample of South Africans drawn from low-income settings. Comprehensive, population-wide interventions are needed to reduce SSB consumption in these settings.

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Data availability

All the data contained within the manuscript are available from the corresponding author upon reasonable request.

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Acknowledgements

The authors would like to acknowledge the research teams, research assistants and the participants of the PURE Study and METS. The Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine of Department of Human Biology, University of Cape Town, the School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, and the National Research Foundation (NRF) that funded the study. METS is funded in part by the National Institute of Health (1R01DK80763), and the PURE study is funded in part by the Population Health Research Institute (McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada), NRF and Medical Research Council of South Africa. Opinions, findings, conclusions and recommendations expressed in this paper are those of the authors and the funders accept no liability whatsoever in this regard. We also acknowledged Tolu Oni of the Department of Public Health and Family Medicine, University of Cape Town for supporting the use of part of data for this study for sugar tax advocacy.

Author contributions

EVL conceptualised the study; EVL, AL, OA, LD, NL, TP, KJO, KB and TP designed the study, KJO and EVL harmonised the datasets, KJO, EVL, FO involved in data analyses, interpretation and writing of the manuscript. RVD, FO, LM, TK-A, KB, SW and HD were involved in the development and or reviewing of the manuscript draughts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. UCT Research Centre for Health through Physical Activity, Lifestyle and Sport, Division of Exercise Science and Sports Medicine, Department of Human Biology, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    K. J. Okop, E. V. Lambert, J. Kroff, L. K. Micklesfield, T. L. Kolbe-Alexander & F. A. Odunitan-Wayas

  2. School of Public Health, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

    K. J. Okop & T. Puoane

  3. Sports Science Institute of South Africa, Cape Town, South Africa

    E. V. Lambert

  4. School of Public Health and Family Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    O Alaba & K. Bobrow

  5. Department of Medicine, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    N. S. Levitt

  6. Department of Public Health Sciences, Loyola University, Chicago, USA

    A. Luke & L Dugas

  7. Departamento de Antropología, Universidad de Antioquia, Medellin, Colombia

    Dover RVH

  8. MRC/Wits Developmental Pathways for Health Research Unit, Faculty of Health Sciences, University of the Witwatersrand, Cape Town, South Africa

    L. K. Micklesfield

  9. School of Health and Wellbeing, University of Southern Queensland, Ipswich, Australia

    T. L. Kolbe-Alexander

  10. African Centre for Cities, University of Cape Town, Cape Town, South Africa

    Smit Warren

  11. School of Journalism and Media Studies, Rhodes University, Cape Town, South Africa

    H. Dugmore

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Correspondence to E. V. Lambert.

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Okop, K.J., Lambert, E.V., Alaba, O. et al. Sugar-sweetened beverage intake and relative weight gain among South African adults living in resource-poor communities: longitudinal data from the STOP-SA study. Int J Obes 43, 603–614 (2019). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41366-018-0216-9

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