Soda: Could Health Warning Labels Deter Purchases?

Cigarette packs and tanning beds come with warning labels, but what about soda? New research suggests that labeling the ill effects associated with drinking too many sugary beverages could deter some parents from purchasing products for their children. 

"In light of the childhood obesity epidemic and studies suggesting that more than half of children under the age of 11 drink SSBs on a daily basis, there is a growing concern about the health effects associated with consumption of these beverages," said lead author Christina Roberto, PhD, an assistant professor of Medical Ethics & Health Policy at Penn Medicine. "Some states have introduced bills requiring SSBs to display health warning labels, but to date, there is little data to suggest how labels might influence purchasing habits, or which labels may be the most impactful."

During the study, researchers divided 2,400 parents into six different groups in a simulated online shopping experiment-asking them to "buy" drinks for their children. All parents had at least one child between the ages of 6 to 11. While one group saw no warning labels on the beverages while another group just saw calorie listing that are typically on the labels. The other four groups, however, saw various warning labels regarding potential health effects associated with beverage intake, including weight gain, type 2 diabetes, tooth decay and obesity.

Findings showed that while 60 percent of participants who saw no label still chose sugary drinks, the number went down to 53 percent when the items gained calorie information. However, 40 percent of those who looked at the health warning labels chose a sugary drink.

"The warning labels seem to help in a way that the calorie labels do not," said Roberto, an assistant professor of medical ethics and health policy at the University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, via Health Day.

The study is published in the journal Pediatrics.

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