Presentation (CTI)

OBJECTIVES: To assess relative preferences for different sugar content, price, icon-based sugar labels, and warning labels on sugar-sweetened beverage choices among adults in Hong Kong.
METHODS: A cross-sectional, web-based discrete choice experiment (DCE) was conducted among 536 adults in Hong Kong. Participants completed one of four blocks of 12 choice tasks. Each task presented five beverage alternatives and one opt-out option (“not purchasing”). Beverage alternatives varied by price, sugar content (low, medium, high), Sugar Label 1 (traffic-light icon vs teaspoon icon), and Sugar Label 2 (no warning, text warning, graphic warning). Conditional logit models with an opt-out alternative were used to estimate main effects, interaction effects, and demographic heterogeneity.
RESULTS: In the main-effects model, price and sugar content were the strongest determinants of beverage choice. Higher price reduced the likelihood of choosing a beverage (Odds Ratio [OR]=0.974, p<0.001). Compared with low-sugar beverages, both medium-sugar (OR=0.646, p<0.001) and high-sugar beverages (OR=0.743, p<0.001) were significantly less likely to be chosen. The teaspoon icon was associated with a lower likelihood of selection than the traffic-light icon (OR=0.896, p<0.001). Interaction analyses showed that warning labels became more effective when sugar content was high. Both high sugar × text warning (OR=0.735, p=0.001) and high sugar × graphic warning (OR=0.714, p<0.001) significantly reduced choice, with the strongest deterrent effect observed for graphic warnings.
CONCLUSIONS: While price and sugar content remained the dominant determinants of beverage choice, warning labels, particularly graphic warnings, were most effective in discouraging selection of high-sugar beverages in Hong Kong.