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Examining Trends in Beverage Sales in New York City During Comprehensive Efforts to Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption, 2010–2015

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Abstract

Since 2006, New York City (NYC) has attempted to reduce sugary drink consumption through several population-based initiatives, media campaigns and policy proposals. We estimated trends in the relative market share of sugary drinks and other beverage categories in NYC, using over 5 years of weekly, point-of-sale data from a retailer sample. We used an interrupted time series approach to assess whether changes in NYC beverage purchasing patterns occurred following the announcement of a proposed portion cap rule for consumer purchases of sugary drinks. Overall, market share of sugary drinks declined in NYC between 2010 and 2015. While the proportion of beverage volume sold that was sugary drinks was stable prior to the May 2012 portion cap rule announcement, decreases of 1.25% per year were observed in the period following the announcement compared to the period before (95% confidence interval (CI) − 1.60, − 0.90). Water/seltzer market share was increasing prior to the announcement and increased by an additional 1.03% per year in the post-announcement period (95% CI 0.48, 1.57). City-led efforts to increase public awareness about sugary drink-associated health risks in NYC may have led to reductions in consumer purchases of these beverages. Though never implemented, the portion cap proposal and accompanying media coverage may have contributed to decreases in sugary drink sales.

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Funding

This research received no specific grant from any funding agency, commercial or not-for-profit sectors.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, Bureau of Chronic Disease Prevention, Queens, NY, 11101, USA

    Julia S. Sisti, Tamar Adjoian Mezzacca, Amaka Anekwe & Shannon M. Farley

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  1. Julia S. Sisti
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  2. Tamar Adjoian Mezzacca
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  3. Amaka Anekwe
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  4. Shannon M. Farley
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Contributions

SF conceived and supervised analysis; JS conceived and conducted analyses and assisted with writing; TA prepared the manuscript; AA assisted with writing. All authors edited initial drafts, and read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Julia S. Sisti.

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Neither informed consent nor IRB approval were required for this study, as no human participants were involved.

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Sisti, J.S., Mezzacca, T.A., Anekwe, A. et al. Examining Trends in Beverage Sales in New York City During Comprehensive Efforts to Reduce Sugary Drink Consumption, 2010–2015. J Community Health 46, 609–617 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10900-020-00911-y

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