Vending machines, sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) use, and weight status of college students

Objective: This study aimed to identify relationships between above average SSB intake of 1160 college students from 9 campuses, their weight, and prevalence of SSB sold in 67 vending machines on those campuses. SSB were categorized as fruit juice, coffee, and soda. Generalized linear mixed models with random campus effect showed: SSB prevalence was not related to intake. Males were 3 times more likely (CI 2.2–5.0, p\u3c0.01) to drink soda, twice as likely (CI 1.4–2.6, p\u3c0.01) to drink fruit juice, and drank twice as much SSB (CI 1.4–3.7, p\u3c0.01) as females. Compared to non-Hispanic Whites (NHW), Asians were less likely (OR=0.3, CI 0.1–0.9, p\u3c0.05) to drink soda and non-Hispanic Blacks (NHB) were 3 times more likely to drink fruit juice (CI 1.6–8.0, p\u3c0.01) and drank 3 times more SSB (CI 1.5–4.5, p\u3c0.01). Total SSB intake was not related to weight status, but compared to NHW, Asians weighed 6.1kg less (CI −0.3–−2.9, p\u3c0.01) and NHB weighed 7.2kg more (CI 3.1–11.3, p\u3c0.01) and had 2.4kg/m2 greater BMI (CI 1.2–3.7, p\u3c0.01). Among college students, males drink more SSB than females; Asians drink less SSB and weigh less; and NHB drink more SSB, weigh more, and have greater BMI than NHW