Teens who consume fruit juice get long-term nutritional benefits: Study

Dr. Lynn L. Moore, professor of medicine at the Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine, recently published the research online in Beverages. Moore and colleagues found that pre-adolescent girls who drank 100% fruit juice had good long-term nutritional benefits with no detrimental effects on weight throughout adolescence, regardless of race.

“While total fruit intake, and particularly whole fruit intake, may have increased in recent years among younger children, this has not been the case for older children,” Dr Moore said.

“In fact, teens typically consume only about half the recommended amount of whole fruit per day. This study showed that teen girls who drank 100% juice were more likely to eat whole fruit than girls who didn’t.” were twice as likely to meet Dietary Guidelines recommendations as those who didn’t drink . . . any juice,” he added.

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In this study, there were few racial differences in fruit consumption—black girls consistently consumed 100% of juice throughout adolescence, despite declines in total fruit and particularly whole fruit intake. Thus, 100% fruit juice made a particularly significant contribution to total fruit intake among adolescents who consumed little whole fruit. as well as better quality diets during adolescence.

Girls, both black and white, who drank the highest amounts of juice (>=1.25 cups per day) also had the lowest BMI levels, while girls with the highest BMI were nonfruit juice consumers. By the end of adolescence (ages 19-20 years), girls who consumed 1.25 or more cups of 100% fruit juice per day during adolescence had a 1.7 kg/m2 lower BMI (24.1 kg/m2 vs. 25.8 kg/m2) ) Was. ) compared to girls who did not drink fruit juice.

The study prospectively tracked multiple sets of height and weight data as well as 3-day dietary records for more than 2,100 girls over a 10-year period as part of the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s National Growth and Health Study. Did. The number of black and white girls was roughly equal. Whole and total fruit consumption was compared with recommendations from the Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) at each age, and diet quality was measured using Healthy Eating Index (HEI) scores.

Among the results of the study were the following:

Higher intake of 100% fruit juice during pre-adolescence in girls was associated with higher intake of both whole fruit and total fruit, regardless of race.

Both white and black girls who consumed 100% fruit juice during pre-adolescence were more likely to meet current Dietary Guidelines recommendations for whole fruit and total fruit intake in adolescence than non-juice drinkers was more than 2 times.

Fruit juice consumption was not associated with excess weight gain, and the children in the study who drank the most juice had the lowest body mass index (BMI) during adolescence.

This study confirms the findings of previous studies suggesting that juice drinking in preteens and teens may promote better diet quality and higher intake of whole fruit without adversely affecting weight.

Dr. Moore said, “This research shows that drinking juice may actually promote higher fruit and total fruit intake. Even children who drink more than 1 cup of fruit juice a day have better diet quality and lower BMI.” ,

“Fruit juice in moderation has a useful role in a healthy diet for adolescents,” says Dr. Stephen R. Daniels, co-author and chair of the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Colorado School of Medicine. Fruit juice may contribute to Getting an adequate intake of fruit that is a challenge for many teens.”