Consumption Statistics

Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages (SSB)

In Québec

• 44% of youths aged 15-16 consume snacks, candies, and soft drinks on a daily basis [1].
• Approximately 20% of Quebec children 4 years of age consume SSB daily [2].

In Canada

• Soft drink consumption in Canada doubled between 1971 and 2001[3].
  • The diversity and pervasive availability of these beverages explains in part these new consumption habits.
• Young children, even toddlers aged one to three years-old consume SSB. Two trends emerge from Canadian youths' consumption [4]:
  • boys consume more SSB than girls
  • consumption increases with age, attaining its maximum between 14 and 18 years of age, with boys consuming more than ½ litre per day and girls, more than 1/3 of a litre.
• In 2002, soft drink consumption reached 120 litres per person per year, equivalent to 60 large bottles [5].

In the United States

• In 2005-2006, American adults consumed an average of 46 gallons of SSB annually [6].
• Two million Americans consume at least one soft drink or other SSB each day [7].
• A recent study showed that SSB consumption by youths aged 2-18 represented 87 Kcal/day in 1977-1978. By 2005-2006, this number soared to 254 Kcal/day, an increase of over 75% in caloric intake from SSB consumption [8].

[1] Enquête sociale et de santé auprès des enfants et des adolescents québécois

[2] Desrosiers, H. & al. (2005). Enquête de nutrition auprès des enfants québécois de 4 ans, Québec, Institut de la statistique du Québec, collection Santé et Bien-être, 152 p. Dans Ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux du Québec (2006). Plan d’action gouvernemental de promotion des saines habitudes de vie et de prévention des problèmes reliés au poids 2006-2012 – Investir pour l’avenir. Québec, Gouvernement du Québec, Direction des communications du ministère de la Santé et des Services sociaux, p.10.

[3] Statistics Canada, Food Statistics 2009, Catalogue no 21-020-X.

[4] Gariguet, D. (2008). Consommation de boissons par les enfants et les adolescents. Statistique Canada. Consulted at http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/82-003-x/2008004/article/6500820-fra.pdf

[5] NationMaster.com. Soft drink consumption by country. Consulted at http://www.nationmaster.com/graph/foo_sof_dri_con-food-soft-drink-consumption

[6] Bleich, S.N., Wang Y.C., Wang Y., & Gortmaker S.L. (2009). Increasing consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages among US adults: 1988–1994 to 1999–2004. American Journal of Clinical Nutrition;89: 372-381.

[7] Article “New campaign asks New Yorkers if they’re “Pouring on the pounds””. Consulted at http://www.nyc.gov/html/doh/html/pr2009/pr057-09.shtml

[8] Popkin, B.M. (2010). Patterns of beverage use across the lifecycle, Physiological Behaviour doi:10.1016/j.physbeh.2009.12.0