Support for Food and Beverage Worksite Wellness Strategies and Sugar-Sweetened Beverage Intake Among Employed U.S. Adults

Abstract

Purpose.

Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption is high among U.S. adults and is associated with obesity. Given that more than 100 million Americans consume food or beverages at work daily, the worksite may be a venue for interventions to reduce SSB consumption. However, the level of support for these interventions is unknown. We examined associations between workday SSB intake and employees’ support for worksite wellness strategies (WWSs).

Design.

We conducted a cross-sectional study using data from Web-based annual surveys that gather information on health-related attitudes and behaviors.

Setting.

Study setting was the United States.

Subjects.

A total of 1924 employed adults (≥18 years) selected using probability-based sampling.

Measures.

The self-reported independent variable was workday SSB intake (0, <1 or ≥1 times per day), and dependent variables were employees’ support (yes/no) for the following WWSs: (1) accessible free water, (2) affordable healthy food/drink, (3) available healthy options, and (4) less available SSB.

Analysis.

Multivariable logistic regression was used to control for sociodemographic variables, employee size, and availability of cafeteria/vending machine.

Results.

About half of employees supported accessible free water (54%), affordable healthy food/drink (49%), and available healthy options (46%), but only 28% supported less available SSB. Compared with non-SSB consumers, daily SSB consumers were significantly less supportive of accessible free water (adjusted odds ratio, .67; p < .05) or less available SSB (odds ratio, .49; p < .05).

Conclusion.

Almost half of employees supported increasing healthy options within worksites, although daily workday SSB consumers were less supportive of certain strategies. Lack of support could be a potential barrier to the successful implementation of certain worksite interventions.