Jury out on impact of sugary juice on kid’s weight

Results of a new study do not support current thinking that a high consumption of 100 percent fruit juice and sweetened fruit drinks contributes to the rising number of overweight and obese children.

“More prospective studies are needed before any conclusive statement is made about beverage consumption and overweight,” Dr. Theresa A. Nicklas from the Children’s Nutrition Research Center at Baylor College of Medicine in Houston told Reuters Health.

Nicklas and two colleagues investigated ties between the types and amounts of beverages consumed and weight status in 1160 preschool-aged children in the U.S. National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey of 1999-2002.

They report in the journal Pediatrics that, on average, the 2- to 5-year-olds drank less than the two servings of milk each day recommended for this age group by the 2005 Dietary Guidelines for Americans.

“Only 8.6 percent drank low-fat or skim milk, as recommended for children who are older than 2 years,” they also report.

“Children consumed a mean amount of 4.7 ounces of 100 percent fruit juice per day, which meets the American Academy of Pediatrics recommendation of no more than 4 to 6 ounces per day,” Nicklas told Reuters Health.

A key finding, she said, was that increased beverage consumption, regardless of type of beverage consumed (i.e. milk, 100 percent fruit juice, fruit drinks, soda), was associated with an increase in total caloric (energy) intake but not with body mass index.

That is, “despite the increase in total caloric intake, beverage consumption was not associated with overweight,” Nicklas explained.

Summing up, Nicklas said “dietary factors associated with childhood obesity are poorly understood and identifying single foods/beverages as the sole contributor to the obesity problem is unfounded.”

“What makes intuitive sense,” she said, “is that the obesity problem may reflect a combination of eating patterns that vary considerably among children, and their cumulative effect on overweight over time.”

“There is no simple answer to a rather complex problem. If there were, we would have solved it.”

Dr. Nicklas is a member of the speaker’s bureau for the National Dairy Council, the National Cattlemen’s and Beef Association, and a member of the advisory board for Cadbury Schweppes, Grain Food Foundation, and holds additional positions in the food and beverage industry.

SOURCE: Pediatrics October 2006.

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