Juice Taking Blame For Pudgy Children

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Juice taking blame for pudgy children

By J.M. HIRSCH
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Soda in a sippy cup? Most parents wouldn't dream of it. 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 tooth decay.

"All of these beverages are largely the same. They are 100 percent sugar," Dr. David Ludwig, an expert on pediatric obesity at Children's Hospital Boston, said recently. "Juice is only minimally better than soda."

The trouble is that parents who are quick to limit a child's soft drink consumption often overlook or even encourage juice indulgence thanks to the beverage's good-for-you image.

That image can be overstated. Though healthy in moderation, juice essentially is water and sugar. A 12-ounce bottle of grape soda has 159 calories. The same amount of unsweetened grape juice packs 228 calories.

Rachel Villarreal of Modesto tries not to give her son, 3-year-old Zachary, too much juice. She figures he drinks eight to 16ounces — one to two cups — each day.

"I've always been really careful about his eating habits," she said.

Sandra Ruckteschler of Modesto, mother of a 14-year-old girl, is vigilant, too. But she doesn't think juice is harmful, as long as children drink it in moderation.

"It's not an issue if they have all-over good eating habits," she said.

The $10 billion juice industry maintains that a conclusive link between its products and obesity has yet to be established, but researchers say sugar is sugar, and sweet drinks of any kind must be consumed with care.

Juice overuse is a relatively recent phenomenon. Before the rise of soda, juice and other drinks in the last half of the 20th century, water and milk were children's primary beverages.

In a nation where nearly a third of children are overweight or at risk of becoming overweight, health officials say high-calorie beverages have little place in a young child's diet.

"With the possible exception of milk, children do not need any calorie-containing beverages," Ludwig said. "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 calories and nutrients children need, according to Dr. Terrill Bravender, director of adolescent medicine at Duke University Medical Center.

In very young children, too much juice cuts the appetite for nutritionally superior breast milk or formula. In older children, it often supplements other foods, potentially adding hundreds of excess calories.

Part of the problem is juices' calories are concentrated. Just half a cup (4 ounces) of apple juice has 60 calories, the same as a whole apple, but without the fiber that makes fruit filling.

In 2001, the American Academy of Pediatrics issued guidelines saying juice should not be given to children younger than 6months, and that there is no nutritional reason to give it to them before their first birthday.

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. Experts say pudgy children should avoid juice.

Those guidelines concern the juice industry, which markets juice boxes and bags to kids. Children drink about a quarter of all juice consumed, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

Carol Freysinger, executive director of the Juice Products Association, is critical of doctors telling parents to eliminate juice, saying it gives a bad name to a healthy beverage and could prevent people from getting important nutrients juice offers.

Despite the guidelines, 60 percent of 1-year-olds drink juice, averaging 11½ ounces a day, according to 2002 USDA data. That's up from 57 percent less than a decade before.

The USDA also found that more children younger than 1are 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 consume more fruit, researchers say using it too often can exacerbate bad eating habits by training kids to prefer — and hold out for — something sweet.

Bee staff writer Kerry McCray can be reached at 578-2358 or kmccray@modbee.com.