Increasing the Availability and Consumption of Drinking Water in Middle Schools: A Pilot Study | Preventing Chronic Disease: May 2011: 10_0105

ORIGINAL RESEARCH
Increasing the Availability and Consumption of Drinking Water in Middle Schools: A Pilot Study

Anisha I. Patel, MD, MSPH, MSHS; Laura M. Bogart, PhD; Marc N. Elliott, PhD; Sheila Lamb, LCSW; Kimberly E. Uyeda, MD, MPH; Jennifer Hawes-Dawson; David J. Klein, MS; Mark A. Schuster, MD, PhD

Suggested citation for this article: Patel AI, Bogart LM, Elliott MN, Lamb S, Uyeda KE, Hawes-Dawson J, et al. Increasing the availability and consumption of drinking water in middle schools: a pilot study. Prev Chronic Dis 2011;8(3).
http://www.cdc.gov/pcd/issues/2011/may/10_0105.htm. Accessed [date].

PEER REVIEWED

Abstract
Introduction
Although several studies suggest that drinking water may help prevent obesity, no US studies have examined the effect of school drinking water provision and promotion on student beverage intake. We assessed the acceptability, feasibility, and outcomes of a school-based intervention to improve drinking water consumption among adolescents.

Methods
The 5-week program, conducted in a Los Angeles middle school in 2008, consisted of providing cold, filtered drinking water in cafeterias; distributing reusable water bottles to students and staff; conducting school promotional activities; and providing education. Self-reported consumption of water, nondiet soda, sports drinks, and 100% fruit juice was assessed by conducting surveys among students (n = 876), preintervention and at 1 week and 2 months postintervention, from the intervention school and the comparison school. Daily water (in gallons) distributed in the cafeteria during the intervention was recorded.

Results
After adjusting for sociodemographic characteristics and baseline intake of water at school, the odds of drinking water at school were higher for students at the intervention school than students at the comparison school. Students from the intervention school had higher adjusted odds of drinking water from fountains and from reusable water bottles at school than students from the comparison school. Intervention effects for other beverages were not significant.

Conclusion
Provision of filtered, chilled drinking water in school cafeterias coupled with promotion and education is associated with increased consumption of drinking water at school. A randomized controlled trial is necessary to assess the intervention’s influence on students’ consumption of water and sugar-sweetened beverages, as well as obesity-related outcomes.

full-text:
Preventing Chronic Disease: May 2011: 10_0105


Author Information
Corresponding Author: Anisha I. Patel, MD, MSPH, MSHS, Assistant Professor, Department of Pediatrics, University of California at San Francisco, 3333 California St, Ste 245, Mailbox 0503, San Francisco, CA 94118. Telephone: 415-476-9189. E-mail: PatelA@peds.ucsf.edu. Dr Patel is also affiliated with the Philip R. Lee Institute for Health Policy Studies, San Francisco, California.

Author Affiliations: Laura M. Bogart, David J. Klein, Mark A. Schuster, Division of General Pediatrics, Children’s Hospital Boston, Boston, Massachusetts, Harvard Medical School, Boston, Massachusetts, and RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California; Marc N. Elliott, Jennifer Hawes-Dawson, RAND Corporation, Santa Monica, California; Sheila Lamb, Kimberly E. Uyeda, Los Angeles Unified School District, Los Angeles, California.