Children who drink fruit juice daily have healthier diets as teens

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Young children who drink two cups of 100% pure fruit juice a day have healthier diets as teenagers and eat more fruit, study finds

  • Drinking more pure juice was linked to healthier diets in adolescence  
  • Children who drank lots of fruit juice went on to eat more fruits as teens 
  • Despite drinking more of the high-sugar drinks, the children were not at higher risk of being overweight  

By Joe Pinkstone For Mailonline

Published: | Updated:

Pre-school and nursery age children should drink at least 1.5 cups of 100 per cent pure fruit juice a day, a study claims. 

American scientists discovered these youngsters develop healthier diets and eat more fruit as teens than their peers who drank less than half a cup of pure juice a day when they were younger. 

And, contrary to previous research, the study found drinking more fruit juice, which is naturally high in sugars, does not put children at greater risk of being overweight. 

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Pre-school and nursery age children should drink at least 1.5 cups of 100 per cent pure fruit juice a day, a study claims. American scientists found these youngsters develop healthier diets as adolescents (stock)

Lead researcher, Dr Lynn Moore from Boston University, said: ‘We know that whole fruit intake as well as diet quality typically decline from early childhood through adolescence.

‘Children who consumed about 1.5 cups of 100 per cent fruit juice a day during the preschool years tended to maintain healthier diets into adolescence than children who drank less than half a cup per day during preschool.

‘In addition, over ten years of follow-up, juice consumption within the range typically consumed by these children (1-2 cups per day), was not associated with excess weight gain during childhood.’ 

The study found those who drank one or more cups of fruit juice a day when they were between three and six years old had ‘significantly higher’ amounts of whole fruit in their diets by the time they were 14-17 years old compared to those who drank less than half a cup a day at the earlier age. 

The study found those who drank one or more cups of fruit juice a day when they were between three and six years old had 'significantly higher' amounts of whole fruit in their diets by the time they were 14-17 years old

The study found those who drank one or more cups of fruit juice a day when they were between three and six years old had ‘significantly higher’ amounts of whole fruit in their diets by the time they were 14-17 years old

Those pre-schoolers who drank the most juice were nearly four times as likely to meet the US equivalent of five-a-day guidelines by the time they hit their teenage years, said the study.

There was no change in BMI from drinking fruit juice, despite fears over the sugar in such drinks because it helped get the kids into eating whole fruit as they got older.

Dr Moore added: ‘Fruit consumption, particularly whole fruit consumption, has many health benefits throughout the lifespan.

‘Avoiding juice during these early formative years may have unintended effects on evolving dietary behaviors,’ noted Dr. Moore.

‘Juice drinking in young children may promote better diet quality and higher intakes of whole fruit. These benefits, associated with moderate intakes of 100 per cent fruit juice, were not accompanied by any adverse effects on childhood weight.’

Women who drink a sugary fruit drink every day are MORE likely to suffer heart disease than those who have a daily can of Coke 

Women who have at least one fruit drink a day are more likely to suffer heart disease  than those who drink a fizzy soda like Coca-Cola once a day, a study warns. 

A study of more than 100,00 women found one or more sugar-added fruit drinks a day increased the risk of cardiovascular disease by 42 per cent. 

In contrast, a fizzy drink a day was associated with only a 23 per cent higher risk of cardiovascular disease.   

The research was based on more than 100,000 women who participated in the California Teachers Study. No men were involved in the study.

The large-scale project began in 1995 with the aim of assessing the long-term impact of different drinks. 

In the study cohort, drinking one or more of any type of sugary beverage daily was associated with a 26 per cent higher likelihood of needing a revascularisation procedure, such as angioplasty to open clogged arteries.