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The individual environment, not the family is the most important influence on preferences for common non-alcoholic beverages in adolescence

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posted on 2023-07-26, 14:12 authored by Andrea D. Smith, Alison Fildes, Suzanna E. Forwood, Lucy Cooke, Clare H. Llewellyn
Beverage preferences are an important driver of consumption, and strong liking for beverages high in energy (e.g. sugar-sweetened beverages [SSBs]) and dislike for beverages low in energy (e.g. non-nutritive sweetened beverages [NNSBs]) are potentially modifiable risk factors contributing to variation in intake. Twin studies have established that both genes and environment play important roles in shaping food preferences; but the aetiology of variation in non-alcoholic beverage preferences is unknown. 2865 adolescent twins (18–19-years old) from the Twins Early Development Study were used to quantify genetic and environmental influence on variation in liking for seven non-alcoholic beverages: SSBs; NNSBs; fruit cordials, orange juice, milk, coffee, and tea. Maximum Likelihood Structural Equation Modelling established that beverage preferences have a moderate to low genetic basis; from 18% (95% CI: 10%, 25%) for orange juice to 42% (36%, 43%) for fruit cordials. Aspects of the environment that are not shared by twin pairs explained all remaining variance in drink preferences. The sizeable unique environmental influence on beverage preferences highlights the potential for environmental modification. Policies and guidelines to change preferences for unhealthy beverages may therefore be best directed at the wider environment.

History

Refereed

  • Yes

Volume

7

Issue number

16822

Publication title

Scientific Reports

ISSN

2045-2322

Publisher

Nature Research

File version

  • Published version

Language

  • eng

Legacy posted date

2017-11-15

Legacy creation date

2017-11-14

Legacy Faculty/School/Department

ARCHIVED Faculty of Science & Technology (until September 2018)

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