Did a workplace sugar-sweetened beverage sales ban reduce anxiety-related sugar-sweetened beverage consumption during the COVID-19 pandemic?

OBJECTIVE: Workplace sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) sales bans can reduce SSB consumption. Because stress and anxiety can promote sugar consumption, we examined whether anxiety among hospital employees during the COVID-19 pandemic was associated with changes in SSB consumption and explored whether this relationship varied by exposure to a workplace SSB sales ban. DESIGN: In a prospective, controlled trial of workplace SSB sales bans, we examined self-reported anxiety (generalised anxiety disorder-7) and self-reported SSB consumption (fluid ounces/d) before (July 2019) and during (May 2020) the COVID-19 pandemic. SETTING: Hospital sites in two conditions (four with SSB sales bans and three without sales bans) in Northern California. PARTICIPANTS: We sampled 580 participants (hospital employees) from a larger trial of sales bans; all were regular consumers of SSB (minimum 3/week at main trial enrollment). This subsample was chosen based on having appropriately timed data for our study questions. RESULTS: Across conditions, participants reduced SSB consumption over the study period. However, participants with higher pandemic-era anxiety scores experienced smaller reductions in SSB consumption after 9 months compared with those with lower anxiety scores (ß = 0·65, P < 0·05). When the sample was disaggregated by sales ban condition, this relationship held for participants in the control group (access to SSB at work, ß = 0·82, P < 0·05), but not for those exposed to an SSB sales ban (ß = 0·42, P = 0·25). CONCLUSIONS: SSB sales bans likely reduce SSB consumption through multiple pathways; buffering stress-related consumption may be one mechanism.

Past Cannabis Use, Health-Related Worry, and Beliefs About Perceived Benefits of Cannabis Among American Indians/Alaska Natives.

BACKGROUND: Most adults report beliefs that cannabis has at least one benefit (e.g., stress relief, chronic pain management); however, the benefits are not well established. Beliefs about cannabis benefits are associated with the initiation of use, whereas beliefs about the risks of cannabis are protective factors against its use. Little is known about how health-related beliefs impact cannabis use among American Indians/Alaska Natives (AIAN). PURPOSE: This exploratory study examined beliefs about perceived benefits (i.e., stress relief, pain management) of cannabis, how beliefs vary as a function of use, and associations between health worry and benefits of cannabis among AIAN adults. METHODS: Participants (n = 182) were on average 41.4 (SD = 16.3) years old, 63.9% female, and identified as AIAN. Participants were asked questions about general demographics, health-related worry and perceptions, and cannabis use. Linear regressions were conducted to examine associations. RESULTS: Those who used cannabis in the past year were more likely to agree that cannabis relieves stress and less likely to believe that those who use cannabis should be very worried about their health. Participants who agreed that those who use cannabis should be worried about their health were less likely to report beliefs that cannabis relieves stress or helps with chronic pain. CONCLUSIONS: Our study confirms the role of health-related perceptions and worry about cannabis products with cannabis use among this population that may be at risk for higher cannabis use. Findings may have implications for cannabis policy at the tribal, state, and federal levels and the need for the development of targeted communications about the true health risks of cannabis.

The Role of Behavioral Medicine in Addressing Climate Change-Related Health Inequities.

Climate change is the greatest threat to global health in human history. It has been declared a public health emergency by the World Health Organization and leading researchers from academic institutions around the globe. Structural racism disproportionately exposes communities targeted for marginalization to the harmful consequences of climate change through greater risk of exposure and sensitivity to climate hazards and less adaptive capacity to the health threats of climate change. Given its interdisciplinary approach to integrating behavioral, psychosocial, and biomedical knowledge, the discipline of behavioral medicine is uniquely qualified to address the systemic causes of climate change-related health inequities and can offer a perspective that is currently missing from many climate and health equity efforts. In this article, we summarize relevant concepts, describe how climate change and structural racism intersect to exacerbate health inequities, and recommend six strategies with the greatest potential for addressing climate-related health inequities.

The Role of Risk Perceptions and Affective Consequences in COVID-19 Protective Behaviors.

BACKGROUND: Slowing the spread of the novel coronavirus (COVID-19) requires behavioral changes such as physical distancing (e.g., staying a 6-foot distance from others, avoiding mass gatherings, reducing houseguests), wearing masks, reducing trips to nonessential business establishments, and increasing hand washing. Like other health behaviors, COVID-19 related behaviors may be related to risk representations. Risk representations are the cognitive responses a person holds about illness risk such as, identity (i.e., label/characteristics of risk), cause (i.e., factors causing condition), timeline (i.e., onset/duration of risk), consequences (i.e., intrapersonal/interpersonal outcomes), behavioral efficacy (i.e., if and how the condition can be controlled/treated), and illness risk coherence (i.e., extent to which representations, behaviors, and beliefs are congruent). The current study applies the Common-Sense Model of Self-Regulation (CSM-SR) to evaluate how risk representations may relate to COVID-19 protective and risk behaviors. METHODS: Participants include 400 workers from Amazon's Mechanical Turk aged ≥ 18 years and US residents. Participants completed an online survey measuring risk representations (B-IPQ) and COVID-19 related behaviors, specifically, physical distancing, hand washing, and shopping frequency. RESULTS: Risk coherence, consequences, timeline, emotional representation, and behavioral efficacy were related to risk and protective behaviors. CONCLUSIONS: Risk representations vary in their relationship to COVID-19 risk and protective behaviors. Implications include the importance of coherent, targeted, consistent health communication, and effective health policy in mitigating the spread of COVID-19.