Pure fruit juice not likely to put weight on kids
NEW YORK, May 10 (Reuters) Contrary to popular belief, drinking pure 100 per cent fruit juice does not make young children overweight or at risk for becoming overweight, new research shows. Pure fruit juice provides essential nutrients and, in moderation, may actually help children maintain a healthy weight.
Inconsistent research findings have led to continued debate over the potential associations between drinking 100 per cent fruit juice, nutrient intake, and overweight in children.
In the their study, researchers analyzed the juice consumption of 3,618 children ages 2 to 11 using data from the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey.
''The bottom line is that 100 percent juice consumption is a valuable contributor of nutrients in children's diet and it does not have an association with being overweight,'' study chief Dr Theresa Nicklas, a child nutrition specialist at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston, told Reuters Health. She presented the new data at the Pediatric Academic Societies' annual convention in Toronto this week.
''If you look at the weight of the evidence there are at least 7 studies plus the one I presented (this week) that show no association between 100 per cent juice and overweight among children,'' Nicklas added. Even among the children who consumed the most juice, there was no association with the children being overweight or at risk for overweight, she said.
The results also indicate that juice consumption ''is not excessive among 2- to 11-year-olds,'' Nicklas said. In fact, 57 per cent of the children did not consume 100 per cent juice at all, ''which is much higher than I expected,'' she said.
The average daily consumption of pure fruit juice in the study population was 4.1 ounces (about half a cup) -- an amount in line with recommendations from the American Academy of Pediatrics.
And while there were a few children (13 per cent) who consumed larger amounts of juice (12 ounces or more), their increased intake was not associated with overweight or at risk for being overweight.
In fact, children in the 2 to 3-year-old category who drank the most juice were nearly three times less likely to be overweight or at risk for overweight than children who drank no juice at all.
Nicklas and her colleagues also found that children who drank any amount of 100 percent juice ate less total fat, saturated fat, sodium, added sugars and added fats. Pure juice drinkers also had higher intakes of a number of key nutrients including vitamin C potassium, magnesium, folate, vitamin B6 and iron. They also ate more whole fruits, like apples.
Nicklas
encourages
parents
who
are
concerned
about
their
child
being
overweight
to
look
beyond
their
juice
consumption.
''My
advice
would
be
to
look
at
the
total
number
of
calories
that
child
is
taking
in
and
look
at
where
the
bulk
of
those
calories
are
coming
from
and
equally
important
look
at
the
activity
level
of
the
child.''
Reuters
NC
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