Adolescents' perspectives on soft drinks after the introduction of the UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy: A focus group study using reflexive thematic analysis.

ABSTRACT:

Background

The UK Soft Drinks Industry Levy (SDIL), announced in March 2016 and implemented in April 2018, is a fiscal policy to incentivise reformulation of eligible soft drinks. We aimed to explore perceptions of sugar, sugary drinks and the SDIL among adolescents in the UK post-implementation.

Methods

23 adolescents aged 11-14 years participated in four focus groups in 2018-2019. A semi-structured topic guide elicited relevant perspectives and included a group task to rank a selection of UK soft drinks based on their sugar content. Braun and Clarke's reflexive thematic analysis was used to undertake inductive analysis.

Results

Four main themes were present: 1) Sweetened drinks are bad for you, but some are worse than others; 2) Awareness of the SDIL and ambivalence

SUBMITTER: Jones CP 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC7614551 | biostudies-literature | 2022 Dec

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature