Publication Date

4-10-2026

Document Type

Article

Publication Title

Public Health Nutrition

DOI

10.1017/S1368980026102523

Abstract

Objective: To investigate the relationship between self-perceived overall dietary healthfulness and self-reported sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption among young adult Latinas, accounting for socioeconomic and acculturation-related factors. Design: Cross-sectional analysis using survey data. SSB intake was assessed using the BEVQ-15, and dietary self-perception was measured via a two-item scale. Multiple linear regression models examined associations between self-perception and total daily SSB intake, adjusting for income, education, and two validated acculturation indicators. Setting: Participants were recruited from a national online panel across the United States. Participants: A total of 881 Latina women aged 18–29 years participated. After removing cases with invalid outcome responses and outliers, 840 and 829 were included in descriptive and regression analyses. Results: Better dietary self-perception was significantly associated with greater total SSB intake in both unadjusted (B = 1.74, p =.048) and fully adjusted models (B = 2.10, p =.017). Lower income (B = -0.64, p =.031) and lower education (B = -0.77, p =.026) were also associated with higher intake. Acculturation variables were not significant. Subcategory models showed positive associations between self-perception and sweet tea (B = 0.99, p <.001) and black coffee/tea with sugar (B = 0.51, p <.01), and a marginal inverse association with soft drinks (B=-0.47, p =.060). Conclusions: Young Latinas who perceive their diets as healthy may consume more added sugar from beverages than recommended. Public health efforts should address this perception gap and emphasize culturally relevant messaging about hidden sugars in commonly consumed drinks.

Keywords

acculturation, beverage consumption, dietary behaviors, dietary self-perception, Latinas, Sugar-sweetened beverages

Creative Commons License

Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.

Department

Nutrition, Food Science and Packaging

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