Sugar-sweetened beverages and water intake among Indigenous youth in the United States and Canada: a scoping review of interventions

The objectives of the scoping review were to: (1) conduct a systematic search for published literature focused on American Indian/Alaskan Native/Indigenous (AI/AN/I) youth, (2) identify current interventions that are focused on reducing sugar-sweetened beverages (SSB) or increased water intake (3) draw an understanding of who is leading these programmes, and (4) identify the lenses being used in developing and implementing the interventions. High consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) among youth is associated with numerous health problems, such as obesity, tooth decay, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease. Unless addressed early, many of these problems extend into, and/or present with additional complications in, adulthood. A comprehensive search was conducted across 5 electronic databases for peer-reviewed articles published until 20 March 2024. Additionally, manual searches were performed in 10 AI/AN/I-focused health journals. Data extraction was performed by 4 reviewers. Data management and analysis were performed using DistillerSR Inc. software, with screening and extraction conducted at all stages. Discrepancies were resolved by consensus among reviewers. The protocol for this scoping review was registered in the Open Science Framework (https://doi.org/10.17605/OSF.IO/MFZ8X). AI/AN/I youth, prenatal to 17 years of age, caregivers, and educators. The search yielded 13 studies that met the eligibility criteria. Interventions were predominantly implemented through school, community, and school-community approaches. Individuals with a range of skills and training levels delivered the interventions. Out of the 13 studies, only 2 studies in this scoping review comprise all 4 aspects of the cultural/spiritual, emotional, mental, and physical domains and characteristics of engaging Indigenous communities when conducting research. Interventions with AI/AN/I communities with strong community and Native Nation support have a greater chance of success regardless of community, home, or school settings. Importantly, AI/AN/I communities have distinct definitions of health, underscoring the importance of identifying these meanings and implementing them as appropriate within research designs.