: 10.56472/25835238/IRJEMS-V5I5P118
Nadiya Dubrovina, Veronika Grimberger, Vira Dubrovina, Maike Scheipers, 5Jana Peliova. "Sugary and Carbonated Beverage Consumption in an Example of Generation Z - Small Sample: Health Risks for Young People" International Research Journal of Economics and Management Studies, Vol. 5, No. 5, pp. 151-165, 2026. Crossref. http://doi.org/10.56472/25835238/IRJEMS-V5I5P118
This article aims to study consumer choices for sweet and carbonated beverages among Generation Z consumers and, using quantitative methods, identify key types of consumer behavior, establish similarities or differences that indicate specific preferences for consuming sweet or carbonated beverages, and formulate recommendations for preventing excess weight and obesity based on consumer type. The article examines the problems of analyzing consumer choice of sweet and carbonated drinks using the method of analytic hierarchy of T. Saaty and multidimensional scaling methods. The following popular beverages were selected as a set of sweet and carbonated drinks: Cola, Pepsi, Fanta, packaged in plastic or glass bottles; sweet Ice Tea varieties prepared from green and black tea with various flavor additives and packaged in plastic bottles; sweet drinks based on black coffee, packaged in closed plastic cups; apple juice and orange juice with added sugar or sweeteners, packaged in plastic or glass bottles; carbonated mineral water, packaged in plastic or glass bottles. Four groups were identified, characterizing the consumer preferences for sweet and carbonated beverages among Generation Z. The first and fourth groups were characterized by lower levels of consumption of beverages such as Cola, Pepsi, and Fanta, and a high preference for carbonated mineral water. This means that this group exhibits lower health risks associated with consuming sugary and carbonated beverages. The first group comprised 20% of observations, while the fourth group comprised 10%. The second group, the largest (60% of observations), exhibited the highest level of health risk due to their high consumption of Cola, Pepsi, and Fanta. In the third group (10% of observations), the health risk from consuming sugary and carbonated beverages was moderate. Thus, various taste and behavioral preferences in the choice of sweet and carbonated drinks were identified, which are of sufficient importance for determining the target group and developing programs to promote healthy eating, prevent obesity and the development of diabetes mellitus associated with metabolic disorders and endocrine system functioning.
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Sugary and Carbonate Beverages, Consumer Choice, Analytical Hierarchy Process, Multidimensional Scaling, Overweight and Obesity, Health Risk.