There has been a general belief for a long time that giving young children pure fruit juice might make them overweight and thus could be contributing to some degree to the current dramatic rise in childhood obesity.
This debate has been going on for some time largely because of the inconsistency in the data from various studies, and it was not until very recently that the results of a study involving 3,618 children from 2 and 11 years of age revealed the truth about drinking pure fruit juice.
There was a wide variation in the consumption of pure fruit juice amongst the children in the study from children who consumed almost none at all to those who consumed an average of about 12 ounces or more daily. The average consumption amongst the children was just over 4 ounces a day, which is consistent with the daily amount recommended by the American Academy of Pediatrics.
The results of the study showed that there was no evidence that children who drank pure fruit juice were overweight as a result, or that drinking fruit juice put them at risk of becoming overweight. Indeed, the opposite was shown to be true with children in the 2 to 3 age group for example, who consumed the most fruit juice, being nearly three times less likely to be overweight than children in the same age group who did not drink pure fruit juice.
More interestingly though, the study also revealed that children who consumed pure fruit juice ate less total fat, saturated fats and added fats as well as less sugar and sodium. These children also ate more whole fruit and had higher intakes of a range of key minerals and vitamins including iron, magnesium, potassium, vitamin B6 and vitamin C.
So, contrary to popular belief, rather than putting children at risk from gaining weight, pure fruit juice would appear to help in maintaining children’s weight at the correct level and also provides them the necessary nutrients, vitamins and minerals for strong and healthy growth.
