Fresh fruit juices have been linked to overweight in children
A systematic review and meta-analysis of 42 studies showed a positive association between the consumption of undiluted fresh fruit juice and weight gain in children. Meanwhile, pure fruit juices had no effect on weight gain in adults, as reported in JAMA Pediatrics.
Fresh fruit juices are used in young children's diets as a source of many nutrients, including vitamins and antioxidants. However, some pediatricians have raised concerns that fresh fruit juices contain too many sugars and calories, which can lead to weight gain in a child. Due to their low fiber content, juices provide little or no sense of satiety, leading to their higher consumption compared to fresh fruit. The available evidence on the effects of consuming such juices is mixed, as are national recommendations.
The World Health Organization and the Canadian Dietary Guidelines recommend limiting free sugars, including those contained in fresh juices to 10 percent of total energy. Russian pediatricians do not recommend including fruit juices in the diet of children under eight months of age, and their volume should not exceed 100 milliliters per day. Due to the growth of overweight and obesity in children, new science-based recommendations on children's diet for pediatricians and parents are needed, which would explicitly address the issue of the amount and necessity of pure fruit juices in children's diets.
A team of scientists led by Michelle Nguyen of the University of Toronto conducted a systematic review and meta-analysis of 42 studies that examined the association between fresh juice consumption and weight gain in adults and children (17 studies focused on children). The studies included both cohort and randomized clinical trials. In all trials, participants were given pure fresh juice of pomegranate, cherry, apple, citrus, or grape. Comparisons included only standard diet, water, or non-nutritive sweetened beverages.
A meta-analysis of 17 cohort studies on the effect of juice consumption on body weight in children showed that each additional serving of juice per day was associated with a 0.03 increase in BMI. In adults, cohort studies showed little weight gain, and randomized clinical trials showed no significant change in body weight in adults with fresh juice consumption. Differences in the subgroups of children were observed by age of the study population, where younger children (under 11 years of age) showed a greater increase in BMI than older children (p < 0.001). The 64 children aged eight years and younger showed the greatest increase in BMI per serving of juice, 0.15.
The results of this meta-analysis support recommendations to limit fruit juice consumption in children to prevent weight gain. Although more research is needed on this issue, pediatricians can already make evidence-based nutritional recommendations to parents.