Association between Cardiovascular Risk in Adolescents and Daily Consumption of Soft Drinks: a Brazilian National Study

Background: Cardiovascular risk in adolescence is a public health problem that has grown along with the increase in soft drink consumption. Objective: To investigate the association between cardiovascular risk factors and daily consumption of soft drinks in Brazilian adolescents. Methods: We conducted a cross-sectional, national, school-based study of 36,956 Brazilian adolescents aged 12 to 17 years. Daily soft drink consumption was estimated using a 24-hour dietary recall. Cardiovascular risk was categorized as overweight, obesity, hypertension, hyperglycemia, and dyslipidemia. The survey command of Stata 14.0® was used to analyze data from a complex sample. The chi-square test was used to assess differences in soft drink consumption and other variables in the descriptive analysis. The odds ratio of cardiovascular risk factors and their respective 95% confidence intervals were estimated, considering sociodemographic and behavioral variables in the Mantel-Haenszel model. Statistical significance was set at p < 0.05. Results: Daily consumption of soft drinks was common among adolescents. A daily serving ≥ 450 mL was significantly associated with overweight and hypertension. Results associated with the consumption of regular soft drinks show the possibility of reverse causality. Consumption of diet soft drinks in adolescence should be considered a cardiovascular risk factor. Conclusion: Daily consumption of soft drinks can be understood as a relevant risk factor in the epidemiological scenario. Improper eating habits are multifactorial in nature and need to be better understood in the context of adolescent health and further explored in national surveys.