Evidence map›Paper›PMID 41480720›Full record

ArticlePublic health nutrition2026

Point-of-sale sugar-sweetened beverage warning posters

Violeta Chacón, Joaquín Barnoya, Laura Gibson, Sophia Mus, José Carlos Monzón Fuentes, Alisa Stephens, Marsha Trego, Caitlin Lowery, Christina Economos, Alison Tovar and 2 more

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In one paragraph

Article in Public health nutrition, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

0numbers the graph read from it
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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

12 authors.

Violeta ChacónRudd Center for Food Policy and Health, https://ror.org/02der9h97University of Connecticut, Hartford, CT06103, USA.ORCID 0000-0003-0529-512X
Joaquín BarnoyaUniversidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Laura GibsonDepartment of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Sophia MusUniversidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
José Carlos Monzón FuentesUniversidad Rafael Landívar, Guatemala City, Guatemala.
Alisa StephensDepartment of Biostatistics, Epidemiology and Informatics, Center for Clinical Epidemiology and Biostatistics, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Marsha TregoDepartment of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.
Caitlin LoweryDepartment of Nutrition, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, Chapel Hill, NC, USA.
Christina EconomosChildObesity180, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 150 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA, 02111, USA.
Alison TovarDepartment of Behavioral and Social Sciences, Brown University, Providence, RI02912, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-1559-592X
Sara C FoltaChildObesity180, Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, Tufts University, 150 Harrison Ave, Boston, MA, 02111, USA.ORCID 0000-0002-4366-5622
Christina RobertoDepartment of Medical Ethics and Health Policy, University of Pennsylvania Perelman School of Medicine, Philadelphia, PA, USA.

Funding

National Institutes of Health R21 TW0010837
6 · The paper itself

Abstract

objectiveWe examined whether point-of-sale warning posters, compared with control posters, reduced Guatemalan adolescents' purchases of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) at school stores.

designWe used a difference-in-differences approach (4-week baseline and 4-week treatment). Our primary analysis compared two schools assigned to an intervention warning poster to one school that displayed a control poster. Based on purchase transaction data, the outcomes were volume of SSB, beverage kcal and sugar purchased per transaction.

settingThree private schools in Guatemala City, Guatemala.

participantsStudents between 12 and 18 years of age.

resultsOur primary analysis found that the warning poster decreased the overall volume of SSB (in ounces) that adolescents purchased in the warning poster intervention schools (-2·27 oz. 95 % CI = (-2·70, -1·85)) compared with the control school. This reduction was driven by a decrease in SSB purchases (OR = 0·64, 95 % CI = (0·49, 0·86)). The warning posters were associated with a significant reduction in likelihood of purchasing a beverage with kilocalories (calories) (OR = 0·68, 95 % CI = (0·49, 0·92)). These changes were associated with a significant overall decrease in sugar purchased (-5·54 g 95 % CI = (-6·69, -4·39)). The posters were associated with a significant increase in non-SSB purchases in the intervention schools compared with the control school (OR = 1·53, 95 % CI = (1·16, 2·02)).

conclusionOur results suggest that messages that warn adolescents about the high-sugar content in SSB may be an effective, low-cost way to modestly reduce purchases of these drinks. These findings provide evidence to support national front-of-package labelling, currently being considered in Guatemala.

Indexed as

BeveragesConsumer BehaviorFood LabelingHealth PromotionPosters as TopicSugar-Sweetened BeveragesAdolescentChildCommerceFemaleGuatemalaHumansMaleSchoolsStudentsFood labellingFront-of-packageLow- and middle-income countriesNutrition labellingSugar-sweetened beverages

Identifiers

PMID41480720
PMCPMC12886556

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LicenceCC BY
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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.