www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/11/juice.abuse.ap -> www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/diet.fitness/02/11/juice.abuse.ap/
Health Library JUICE ABUSE Science: Contrary to the healthy image of unsweetened juices, research in creasingly links sweet drinks of all kinds to childhood obesity. Reason: Like soda, juice is mostly water and sugar, and it doesn't have t he fiber of whole fruit. Advice: Children under 6 months should never have juice, and there's no n utritional reason to give it to kids before their first birthday.
But researchers say that when a baby's bottle or cup is filled with juice -- even the 100 percent, all-natural , no-sugar-added stuff -- parents might as well be pouring Pepsi. A growing body of science is linking sweet drinks, natural or otherwise, to a host of child health concerns, everything from bulging bellies to t ooth decay. David Ludwig, an expert on pediatric obesity at Children's Hospita l Boston, said recently. The trouble is that parents who are quick to limit a child's soft drink c onsumption often overlook or even encourage juice indulgence thanks to t he beverage's good-for-you image. Though healthy in moderation, juice ess entially is water and sugar. In fact, a 12-ounce bottle of grape soda ha s 159 calories. The same amount of unsweetened grape juice packs 228 cal ories. The $10 billion juice industry maintains that a conclusive link between i ts products and obesity has yet to be established, but researchers say s ugar is sugar, and sweet drinks of any kind must be consumed with care. Before the rise of so da, juice and other sweetened drinks during the latter half of the 20th century, water and milk were children's primary beverages. In a nation where nearly a third of children are either overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, health officials now say high-calorie bever ages have little place in a young child's diet. "With the possible exception of milk, children do not need any calorie co ntaining beverages," Ludwig says. "What is needed to replace fluid loss and satisfy thirst is the same beverage we've been drinking for millions of years, and that's water." The danger of juice is that too much can throw off the balance of calorie s and nutrients children need, according to Dr. Terrill Bravender, direc tor of adolescent medicine at Duke University Medical Center. In very young children, too much juice cuts the appetite for nutritionall y superior breast milk or formula. In older children, it often supplemen ts other foods, potentially adding hundreds of excess calories. Part of the problem is that the calories in juice are so concentrated. Ju st half a cup (4 ounces) of apple juice has 60 calories, the same as a w hole apple, but without the fiber that makes fruit filling. In 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidelines saying frui t juice should not be given to children younger than 6 months, and that there is no nutritional reason to give it to them before their first bir thday. After that, juice is optional, though the group favors whole produce and urges parents to limit juice to 4 to 6 ounces a day for children up to 6 years old, and to no more than 8 to 12 ounces for older children. Exper ts say pudgy children should avoid juice altogether. Those guidelines concern the juice industry, which markets 6 3/4-ounce ju ice boxes and bags to kids. Children drink about a quarter of all juice consumed, according to the US Department of Agriculture. Carol Freysinger, executive director of the Juice Products Association, s ays some producers have felt an impact since the pediatrics guidelines w ere released, but she wouldn't elaborate. She is critical of doctors telling parents to eliminate juice, saying it gives a bad name to a healthy beverage and could prevent people from get ting important nutrients juice offers. Despite the guidelines, 60 percent of 1-year-olds drink juice, averaging 11 1/2 ounces a day, according to 2002 USDA data. The USDA also found that more children younger than 1 are drinking juice, up from 35 percent to 39 percent, though they are drinking less of it. While juice can be a healthy way to occasionally get picky children to co nsume more fruit, researchers say using it too often can exacerbate bad eating habits by training kids to prefer -- and hold out for -- somethin g sweet. William Dietz, with the division of nutrition and physical activity a t the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says parents need to b e firm -- thirst is satisfied with water, hunger with solid foods. Kimberly Kwitkiwski, a mother of twin 2-year-old girls, has found a middl e ground. She is careful about her daughters' sugar intake, but since Ja de and Jillian won't drink straight water, she spikes it with a few ounc es of low-sugar juice. Over the course of a day, the Hooksett, New Hampshire, woman's children g et only about 4 or 5 ounces of light juice. Despite her vigilance, Kwitkiwski says it's easy to be confused by mixed messages, especially on product labels. She wonders how many parents rea lize "no added sugar" doesn't mean "low sugar." Ludwig also is critical of juice marketing efforts, saying parents are ea sily misled into thinking they are making healthy choices. He was partic ularly critical of one bagged juice beverage's claim that it "hydrates k ids better than water." "This is an example of how children's diets can be perverted by the unbri dled actions of the food industry when it places private profit ahead of public health," he says.
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