Availability, price, and promotion of sugar-sweetened beverages in a national sample of food stores

Introduction: A number of governmental and non-governmental organizations have called for policy and environmental strategies to reduce the public's consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). This study assesses the availability, price and promotion of SSBs in a national sample of food stores and examines differences in these characteristics by store type and community demographics. Methods: Observational data were collected in 2,910 food stores located in 154 communities during the spring/summer of 2010 as part of a nationwide study. The food store observation form measured the availability, price, and exterior promotion of several beverage products. Results: Preliminary results indicate widespread availability of SSBs. Soda, sports drinks, energy drinks, juice drinks, and enhanced waters were available in over 83% of observed stores. Sweetened beverages of any kind were available at the checkout area in 86% of supermarkets, 38% of grocery stores, and 23% of smaller stores. This was significantly more frequent than the availability of bottled water at the checkout (p<0.05). Across all stores, the average price for a 20-oz bottled soda was significantly higher than that for a 20-oz bottled water (p<0.01). One quarter (25%) of food stores had one or more exterior advertisements for soda and 13% had one or more ads for energy drinks. Discussion: While SSBs are widely available in all types of food stores, the price and promotion of these products vary. Ongoing analyses will further reveal the extent of differences in the availability, price, and promotion of SSBs by store type and community demographics.