Posted on 01/17/2024 9:58:04 AM PST by nickcarraway
— Findings support guidance limiting such beverages in young children, researcher says
Daily consumption of 100% fruit juice was associated with a small increase in body mass index (BMI) in children, while an association between consumption and weight gain among adults appeared mixed, a systematic review and meta-analysis found.
In prospective cohort studies involving kids, each 8-oz serving of 100% fruit juice was associated with a 0.03 increase in BMI (95% CI 0.01-0.05), a link that appeared to be driven by younger children, reported Vasanti Malik, MSc, ScD, of the University of Toronto, and colleagues.
Cohort studies in adults found no significant association between each serving of 100% fruit juice and increased weight (0.07 kg, 95% CI -0.06 to 0.20), however. Furthermore, randomized clinical trials (RCTs) in adults found no association, with a mean difference of -0.53 kg (95% CI -1.55 to 0.48) for individuals assigned to drink juice versus controls, the researchers detailed in JAMA Pediatricsopens in a new tab or window.
The findings "support public health guidance to limit the consumption of 100% fruit juice, especially for young children," said co-author Michelle Nguyen, HBSc, also of the University of Toronto, adding that whole fruit rather than fruit juices should be recommended, with water as the drink of choice.
"Whether 100% fruit juice is a healthy beverage is a question of great interest from clinicians, the general public, parents and caregivers, and policymakers," Nguyen told MedPage Today in an email. "The evidence on 100% fruit juice and weight gain has yielded mixed findings from both observational studies (prospective cohort studies) and clinical trials. Our findings indicate that 100% fruit juice consumption was associated with weight gain in children, with younger children showing greater weight gain."
No RCTs addressing this question have been conducted in kids, but subgroup analyses of the cohort studies showed the association to be driven by kids age 10 and younger (BMI increase of 0.15, 95% CI 0.05-0.24), with no association in those age 11 and older (-0.001, 95% CI -0.01 to 0.01).
The findings in children are in line with American Academy of Pediatrics guidelinesopens in a new tab or window that suggest children younger than 6 years of age consume less than one glass of fruit juice per day, Malik and colleagues noted.
"Concerns have been raised that the early age of fruit juice introduction may lead to an increased risk for overweight and obesity in later childhood due to increased preference for sweet foods," they wrote. "Thus, delaying the introduction of 100% fruit juice in young children, moderating serving sizes, and favoring whole fruit is recommended. Although the effect sizes are modest, small gains in BMI over time may substantiate over the life course; therefore, limiting intake of fruit juice among children is an important strategy for them to develop healthy weight trajectories."
In adults, cohort studies that did not adjust for total energy intake showed a positive association between 100% fruit juice and increasing body weight (0.21 kg, 95% CI 0.15-0.27 kg), whereas studies that adjusted for energy intake found an inverse association (-0.08 kg, 95% CI -0.11 to -0.05).
This suggests that "excess calories play a role in this association," Nguyen said.
Significant associations between juice consumption and weight gain among adults also appeared dependent on study location:
North America: 0.14 kg (95% CI 0.02-0.26) Europe: -0.15 kg (95% CI -0.37 to 0.08) For their systematic review and meta-analysis, the researchers searched MEDLINE, Embase, and Cochrane databases for studies through May 18, 2023. Prospective cohort studies of at least 6 months and RCTs of at least 2 weeks that assessed the association of 100% fruit juice with body weight change in children and adults were included.
The final review included 45,851 children (median age 8 years) from 17 prospective cohort studies along with 268,095 adults (median age 42) from six prospective cohort studies and 19 RCTs.
Most of the cohort studies in children were conducted in North America, and the median study duration was 4 years. Cohort studies in adults were conducted in North America or Europe, with a median duration of 3 years.
The majority of RCTs in adults were conducted in Europe or Asia, with a median duration of 6 weeks. All studies were feeding trials, with participants provided 100% fruit juice in the form of pomegranate, berries, tart cherry, apple, citrus, or grape juice.
Limitations included the lack of RCTs in children, and that only five of the 17 cohorts in children and five of the six cohorts in adults used a change-versus-change analysis. "This would be the optimal analysis to assess longitudinal changes in 100% fruit juice intake and concomitant body weight change," the researchers wrote.
Jennifer Henderson joined MedPage Today as an enterprise and investigative writer in Jan. 2021. She has covered the healthcare industry in NYC, life sciences and the business of law, among other areas.
The brain works better on ketone bodies.
I buy 4 bananas every week. Grapes and berries when they’re on sale.
For example: Bell peppers have more vitamin C content than oranges do without the high fructose and high glycemic index. Yellow bell peppers have the most vitamin C content, followed by red, then green.
As for liquid consumption, stick to water. Drinking your calories, especially with a high sugar content, will pack on the extra fat since those excess carb-laden calories will be stored as fat (hence the term, "beer belly"). Even the "healthy" fruit juices will pack on the pounds. Calories without the satiety.
In other news regarding children’s “health”:
“Biden’s HHS to spend $700,000 on ‘inclusive teen pregnancy prevention for transgender boys’”
Our nation has gone stark-raving mad as Democrat politicians and bureaucrats destroy every institution and democrat voters are cheering on the destruction.
A 0.3% increase??!!! Well, screw all the benefits of vitamins, ya might gain a fraction of a pound! Plainly, diet soda is the answer. (/sarcasm)
Glucose may be the energy source for the brain, but sugar consumption is bad for the whole body. Since you know the word neoglucogenesis then you should know the body is more than capable of creating sugar for its own needs. It is not going to create it in the excessive spikes that consuming sugary drinks and foods does.
Fruit juice is no better than soda with a few vitamins and minerals thrown in. It is flavored sugar water, and rich in fructose more than glucose. It is essentially the subtraction of everything good in fruit to leave only the unhealthiest part.
I will agree that without juice we would still have weight issues. Too much starchy food processed with sweeteners and vegetable oils are killing people, but that does not absolve fruit juice of its contribution to the problem. The worst thing about fruit juice it that if a parent hands their child a soda, they know they are serving them unhealthy, empty calories but they suffer the illusion that fruit juice is healthy. It absolutely is not.
I don’t drink any calories of any kind anymore.
I’m arguing that the article is garbage to pinpoint juice as the cause.
I absolutely agree it’s better to eat an actual fruit over juice.
There’s two fitness sayings of abs are made in the kitchen, and you can’t out train a poor diet. Also, too much exercise can create cortisol, ghrelin, and inflammation issues.
“Moderation in everything.”
You might find this interesting.
There’s other sources if cnn bothers you.
Search Kansas state nutrition Professor junk food
https://www.cnn.com/2010/HEALTH/11/08/twinkie.diet.professor/index.html
Does that hold long term, or is it a short term survival adaptation?
The idea that juice is good for kids is ludicrous.
A friend of mine discovered that apple juice, for whatever reason, was contributing to her daughter’s ear infections. So she cut out the juice and said her appetite improved dramatically.
Makes sense. They are just messing with blood sugar levels with that much sugar so kids actually eat less of what’s good for them. Also, if the sweetener is HFCS, then YES it’s going to make kids fat.
I juice lemons for lemonade and it is delicious.
Or at least if you do consume sugar, burn it off, quickly.
That’s why walking is my main exercise, and it’s the best if you want to lose weight. Plus it’s much easier on the knees. No point in getting in shape if it wrecks your knees.
I usually consume it post workout for glycogen replacement.
Probably unnecessary for me now.
Yes, juice is making the kids fat. Not the inactivity, not the fake food and food adjacent microwave, prepackaged, chemical laden convience foods that are now breakfast lunch and dinner, not the processed snacks that are given out at school in nutrition programs, not the constant grazing. Just cut the fruit juice with water and the kids will be fine.
I mainly do lifting, sprinting, swimming, and walking.
In one year I have my Masters T&F competition, then I will dial back my sprinting and lifting some.
Walking is good for multiple reasons. More should do it as often as possible.
It’s not so much that fruit juice is making them fat, but it’s sold as something that is healthy, when it is not.
Dang, maybe you should try out for the Gator football team.
Among what I learned was an understanding that whole fruit includes fiber, which delays the body's absorption of calories, which, in turn, prevents a blood sugar spike leading eventually to insulin resistance and weight gain.
True. Although, it’s not the actual natural sugar in the fruit juice that is the problem. It is all the added sugar the companies include in those commercially sold juices.
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