Table 2.
Parents’ (n 33) and youths’ (n 38) understanding of and beliefs about the Balance Calories Initiative (BCI) messages, collected in March–August 2017
| East Los Angeles/Boyle Heights, CA | Montgomery, AL | North Mississippi Delta, MS | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Code | Youths (n 12) | Parents (n 10) | Youths (n 14) | Parents (n 11) | Youths (n 12) | Parents (n 12) |
| A. Poor comprehension of BCI message | ‘I do not really understand what the word “balance” means … perhaps balance means to find a drink that you like’ (17-year-old girl) | ‘I think the billboard is promoting to diversify your options of drinks and not to have only Coke or Pepsi, because it is saying “More Beverage Choices” like when you go to restaurants and you can choose also fruit juices, or Seven Up or lemonade’ (22-year-old father) | ‘Balance means what types of drinks do you want, do you like the drink or not’ (11-year-old boy) | ‘Balance means which one is much better for me, which one I would prefer, it also means which drink will help you better with digestion’ (32-year-old mother) | ‘If I try all those drinks in the picture, I will probably find my flavour and my balance’ (14-year-old girl) | ‘Balance in this message means balance out your light drinks with your dark drinks and find your best flavours’ (36-year-old mother) |
| B. BCI message perceived to convey acceptability of SSB | ‘All of these drinks are good drinks to me, refreshing. Some of them are diet. Balance means find a drink that you really like and balance it out with something that is healthy’ (14-year-old boy) | ‘Balance means that you can eat some food, but walk or go the gym. If you eat greasy food, drink water and exercise, balance your food and drinks with exercising’ (42-year-old mother) | ‘Find your balance between drinking soda and water’ (16-year-old boy) | ‘I’m guessing that is saying everything that you drink, eat and do balance it out. Maybe if you are eating something that is not healthy, drink something that is diet to make it work’ (34-year-old mother) | ‘To me, it says, more beverages, which means is your choice to have less or a lot of sugar in your drinks’ (11-year-old boy) | ‘Balance means equality, it is drinking sodas in moderation’ (31-year-old mother) |
| C. BCI message perceived to be an SSB advertisement | ‘It is showing sodas – that makes you want to drink sodas’ (16-year-old boy) | ‘I think this is a commercial that is inviting me to drink fresh beverages’ (60-year-old father) | ‘I play sports and drink after playing sports but not soda, I drink water after sports. This picture makes me think I should start drinking these kinds of drinks’ (15-year-old boy) | ‘Drink soda in moderation, I think the billboard is more gearing toward soda, and it has some options; to me is like soda advertisement’ (34-year-old mother) | ‘This picture is making me really thirsty with all these drinks on it, I want to buy a drink’ (14-year-old boy) | ‘The billboard in one hand is saying less pops, less sugar, but on the other hand is advertising more drinks in its bottom part’ (25-year-old mother) |
| D. BCI message perceived to be health promotion | ‘Balance means to put limitations to the unhealthy stuff that you eat and drink every day … I should start drinking more water instead of soda’ (11-year-old boy) | ‘Balance means to equalize our meals with vegetables and fruits, and drink a lot of water instead of sodas’ (31-year-old mother) | ‘If you exercise, you do not want to eat junk food, so you want to eat healthy and drink water of course if you are exercising, I guess basically is telling you to stay healthy’ (14-year-old girl) | ‘Balance means watch how many sodas and how much sugar in sodas do you drink and I guess to figure out better ways to drink and eat’ (26-year-old mother) | ‘I think this message is saying that I need to exercise more, then I need to eat less and healthier and drink water. Balance means like do not overdo it, just do it right’ (10-year-old girl) | ‘Eat vegetables, drink and eat healthy’ (25-year-old mother) |
SSB, sugar-sweetened beverage.