Use of a Water Filter at Home Reduces Sugary Drink Consumption among Parents and Infants/Toddlers in a Predominantly Hispanic Community: Results from the Water Up!@ Home Intervention Trial

Background Water is recommended as an alternative for sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs). Low-income, minority groups in the United States continue to exhibit high SSB and low water consumption, and are more likely to exceed 100% fruit juice recommendations. Objective To test the effects of a home-based intervention designed to replace SSBs with tap water and reduce excess juice consumption among parents and their infants/ toddlers. Design Randomized controlled trial. Participants Parents (n = 92) of infants/toddlers who participated in three Early Head Start home-visiting programs that serve predominantly Hispanic, low-income com-munities during 2019-2021. Intervention The 12-week intervention (Water Up!@Home) simultaneously addressed physical barriers to tap water consumption (via a water filter) and sociocultural barriers to replacing SSBs and juice with water (via a curriculum). Comparison group received a water filter only. We hypothesized that the intervention would lead to a reduction of 6 fi oz/d in SSB and juice consumption. Main outcomes Parent-reported self and infant/toddler SSBs, water (filtered, tap, or bottled), and 100% fruit juice consumption. Statistical analyses Analysis of covariance to compare changes in consumption be-tween experimental groups was performed. We also conducted t tests to assess changes within groups. Results Participants in both groups reported significant reductions in SSBs from baseline (parents: intervention [-11.2 fi oz/d; P < 0.01]; comparison [-8.0 fi oz/d; P < 0.01]; children: intervention [-1.50 fi oz/d; P = 0.03]; comparison [-1.56 fi oz/d; P = 0.02]), increased water consumption (parents in both groups [+5.6 fi oz/d]; children: intervention [+3.61 fi oz/d; P = 0.01], comparison [+2.24 fi oz/d; P = 0.05]), mostly from filtered tap water. Differences between groups were not statistically significant. Inter-vention participants reported significant reductions in 100% fruit juice vs comparison (parents:-3.6 fi oz/d vs-1.0 fi oz/d; P < 0.01; children:-0.73 fi oz/d vs +0.48 fi oz/d; P = .03). Conclusions The intervention effectively reduced 100% fruit juice consumption. Water security should be examined as a contributor to SSB consumption in this population. J Acad Nutr Diet. 2023;123(1):41-51.