Sugared beverage consumption in Jewish middle schools

Background: Orthodox Jews typically use treat foods for rewards in school and at home. Community-specific data is useful to demonstrate need for interventions and guide their design. Methods: Surveys were administered to all 7th-8th graders at all Jewish middle schools (3 Orthodox, 1 Conservative, 1 non-denominational) in Cuyahoga County (Cleveland, OH). To protect school identification, students were grouped by family religious identity: Non-Orthodox (NO), Modern Orthodox (MO) and Centrist/Ultra-Orthodox (CUO). Variables: consumption of sugared beverages 1+daily, and number per day; importance of eating less junk food to self, friends (1-5 scale); home availability(1-5 scale); encouragement to eat less junk food (parents, teachers);sex. Modified Poisson and ordinary regression models were used. Results: 241 surveys(82% of total enrolled; 86 NO, 94 MO, 61 CUO) were complete. Female(RR=0.13, p=.0007),MO(RR=2.1, p=.0469) and home availability(RR=5.1, p<.0001) were associated with 1+ sugared beverages per day, and CUO was borderline significant(RR=2.1, p=.0506). Only Female(-.32, p=.0003),CUO(.31, p=.0051) and home availability(.55, p<.0001) were associated with number of sugared drinks per day. Religious identification was not associated with home availability of sugared beverages. Conclusions: Consumption of sugared drinks was most strongly driven by home availability and female sex. Orthodox children consumed much more, but were no more likely to have it available at home. The Modern Orthodox group had many heavy consumers, but similar overall mean consumption. Interventions should target the home more than the school, and may need to address possible attitudes in Orthodox homes that are particularly indulgent in terms of consumption of sugared beverages.