TABLE 4.
Perceived healthfulness of sweetened fruit-flavored drinks according to caregivers’ beliefs and accuracy regarding ingredients
| Fruit drinks (n = 982) | Flavored waters (n = 774) | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Perceived healthfulness1 | Perceived healthfulness1 | |||||||||||
| n | % | Mean | SD | F | P value | n | % | Mean | SD | F | P value | |
| Added sugar | ||||||||||||
| Believes drink contains it | 785 | 80 | 4.7 | 2.3 | 39.6 | <0.0012 | 449 | 58 | 6.4 | 2.3 | 9.8 | 0.0022 |
| Believes drink does not contain it | 197 | 20 | 5.9 | 2.8 | 325 | 42 | 6.9 | 2.5 | ||||
| Nonnutritive sweetener (NNS) | ||||||||||||
| Believes drink contains it | 224 | 23 | 5.0 | 2.4 | 0.1 | 0.7883 | 182 | 24 | 6.5 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.6553 |
| Believes drinks does not contain it | 758 | 77 | 4.9 | 2.7 | 592 | 76 | 6.6 | 2.5 | ||||
| Percentage of juice in drink | ||||||||||||
| Overestimates | 798 | 81 | 5.3 | 2.5 | 75.8 | <0.0014 | 705 | 91 | 6.6 | 2.4 | 1.6 | 0.205 |
| Accurate | 184 | 19 | 3.5 | 1.9 | 69 | 9 | 6.9 | 2.4 | ||||
| Composite accuracy score | ||||||||||||
| 0 accurate ingredients | 109 | 11 | 6.0 | 2.6 | 17.1 | <0.0015 | 203 | 26 | 6.7 | 2.6 | 0.5 | 0.593 |
| 1 accurate ingredient | 456 | 46 | 5.1 | 2.4 | 388 | 50 | 6.5 | 2.4 | ||||
| 2 or 3 accurate ingredients | 417 | 42 | 4.5 | 2.4 | 183 | 24 | 6.5 | 2.2 | ||||
Measured on a scale of 1 = very unhealthy to 10 = very healthy.
Denotes significance in comparing mean perceived healthfulness between participants who thought the drink contained added sugar compared with those who did not think it contained it.
Denotes significance in comparing mean perceived healthfulness between participants who thought the drink contained NNS compared with those who did not think it contained it.
Denotes significance in comparing mean perceived healthfulness between participants who overestimated the percentage of juice in the drink compared with those who were accurate.
Per Scheffe post hoc test all contrasts were significant at P < 0.05 for “Fruit drinks:” 0 vs. 1 (P = 0.003), 0 vs. 2–3 (P < 0.001), 1 vs. 2–3 (P = 0.003).