The Association between Types of Soda Consumption and Overall Diet Quality: Evidence from National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES).

Background and purpose: Daily soda consumption may lead to high energy intake and poor diet quality. Although diet sodas contain no calories, they lack healthful nutrients. The study examined different types of soda consumption [regular (sugar-sweetened) sodas, diet sodas, and non-sodas] associated with overall diet quality.

Methods: Cross sectional, 24-hour dietary recall data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) from 2005-2012 were utilized for the study. Majority of the participants (n = 4,427) were female (57%), adults aged 19-55 years (51%), and non-Hispanic whites (67%). Nutritional Quality Index (NQI) was calculated as an indicator of diet quality. Multiple linear regression models were used to estimate the significant association between types of soda consumption and NQI stratified by body mass index.

Results: Regular soda drinkers had lower NQI than diet soda drinkers, but only for overweight (β =-9.72; p=0.031) and obese (β =-7.06; p<0.002) individuals. Non-soda drinkers had higher NQI compared to diet soda drinkers in normal weight (β =12.38; p=0.006) and obese (β =6.19; p<0.000) individuals.

Conclusion: Nutrition intervention programs, therefore, should target overweight and obese soda drinkers, emphasizing reduction in soda consumption, which may improve nutrient density in their diets and subsequently impact long-term health outcomes.