Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption among pregnant women attending general and teaching hospitals in Ibadan, Nigeria: SSB consumption during pregnancy

BACKGROUND: Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) have become a global health concern because of their adverse health effects and their association with the obesity pandemic. It has not received much attention in sub-Saharan Africa, including Nigeria, especially among pregnant women. The pattern, frequency and factors associated with SSBs among pregnant women in Ibadan, Nigeria, were investigated. DESIGN: Data were from the Ibadan Pregnancy Cohort Study - a prospective cohort study investigating 1745 pregnant women from four comprehensive obstetric facilities in Ibadan. A qualitative food frequency questionnaire (FFQ) was used to assess the pregnant women’s intake of food and drinks over the previous months. Sugar-sweetened beverage variable and scores were also generated using the principal component analysis with varimax rotation. Factors associated with high SSB scores were examined using multivariate logistics regression analyses at a 5% significance level. RESULTS: The most commonly consumed SSBs were cocoa-sweetened beverages, soft drinks, malt drinks, and fruit juice. A quarter of the women (75th percentile) consumed SSB more than once weekly. The factors associated with high SSB on multivariate analysis were; being employed (AOR: 1.52, 95% CI 1.02–2.26), maternal obesity (AOR: 0.065, 95% CI 0.47–0.89), high fruit intake (AOR:3.62, 95% CI 2.62–4.99), high green vegetable consumption (AOR:1.99, 95% CI 1.06–3.74), high milk intake (AOR: 2.13, 95% CI 1.65– 2.74), frequent fast food outlet visit (AOR: 2.19, 95% CI 1.53–1.70), all of these remained significant after adjusting for confounding variables. CONCLUSION: SSBs were common among our study population. Factors associated with high SSBs intake are crucial for implementing locally relevant public health interventions. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12889-023-15828-z.