Author Interviews, Nutrition, Pediatrics, Pediatrics, Weight Research / 24.03.2017
How Does Fruit Juice Affect Weight Gain in Children?
MedicalResearch.com Interview with:
Brandon Auerbach, MD, MPH
Acting Instructor
Division of General Internal Medicine
University of Washington
MedicalResearch.com: What is the background for this study? What are the main findings?
Response: The question of whether 100% fruit juice causes poor health outcomes in children, such as weight gain, has been a subject of controversy. On one hand, 100% fruit juice contains vitamins and nutrients that many children lack, is often cheaper than whole fruit, and may help kids with limited access to healthy food meet their daily fruit requirements.
On the other hand, leading nutrition experts have expressed concern that fruit juice contains amounts of sugar equal to or greater than those of sugary drinks like regular soda. Guidelines from the American Academy of Pediatrics warn that 100% juice can be a significant source of calories and contribute to obesity if consumed excessively.
Our main finding was that consuming 1 serving/day of 100% fruit juice was not associated with weight gain in children. Children ages 1 to 6 years gained a small amount of weight, but not enough to negatively impact health. Children ages 7 and older gained no weight. We did not study amounts of 100% fruit juice higher than 1 serving/day.
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