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New Research: Fruit Juice in Infancy Associated With More Body Fat in Childhood

What kind of study was this?

This was an observational study that followed participants over time, which means that researchers did not change, intervene, or experiment in any way with the participants. They just measured different things at different times in the same group of people.

What did researchers want to know?

This study was part of a larger study that measured many different things in mothers before they gave birth and then continued to measure different things in the child for years afterward. In this smaller part of the study, they wanted to know if fruit juice consumption in one-year-olds was connected to these kids having more adipose tissue (body fat) later on in childhood.

What did the researchers actually do?

When the child was one year old, the researchers asked parents how much fruit juice the child consumed each day on average. Then, as a part of the larger study at ages eight and 13, each child underwent a DXA scan, which is an X-ray that can precisely measure adipose tissue (body fat) in the body.

Then the researchers ran statistical analyses to see if there were connections between fruit juice consumption at one year old and adipose tissue at ages eight and 13.

What did the researchers find?

They found that drinking fruit juice was connected to greater adipose tissue later in childhood.

What does this mean for parents and kids?

Avoid fruit juice. It could contribute to greater body fat in children. Because it’s full of sugar but has no fiber, protein, and fat, it provides calories without the nutrition that helps us feel full. So, just like with soda, kids who are drinking fruit juice are getting extra calories on top of the real food that actually makes them feel full.

Original article: Wu AJ, Aris IM, Rifas-Shiman SL, Oken E, Taveras EM, Hivert MF. Longitudinal associations of fruit juice intake in infancy with DXA-measured abdominal adiposity in mid-childhood and early adolescence. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021 Jul 1;114(1):117-123. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab043. PMID: 33829237; PMCID: PMC8246602.

New Research: Fruit Juice in Infancy Associated With More Body Fat in Childhood

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New Research: Fruit Juice in Infancy Associated With More Body Fat in Childhood

Drinking fruit juice at one year old is connected to greater body fat at eight and 13 years old.

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What kind of study was this?

This was an observational study that followed participants over time, which means that researchers did not change, intervene, or experiment in any way with the participants. They just measured different things at different times in the same group of people.

What did researchers want to know?

This study was part of a larger study that measured many different things in mothers before they gave birth and then continued to measure different things in the child for years afterward. In this smaller part of the study, they wanted to know if fruit juice consumption in one-year-olds was connected to these kids having more adipose tissue (body fat) later on in childhood.

What did the researchers actually do?

When the child was one year old, the researchers asked parents how much fruit juice the child consumed each day on average. Then, as a part of the larger study at ages eight and 13, each child underwent a DXA scan, which is an X-ray that can precisely measure adipose tissue (body fat) in the body.

Then the researchers ran statistical analyses to see if there were connections between fruit juice consumption at one year old and adipose tissue at ages eight and 13.

What did the researchers find?

They found that drinking fruit juice was connected to greater adipose tissue later in childhood.

What does this mean for parents and kids?

Avoid fruit juice. It could contribute to greater body fat in children. Because it’s full of sugar but has no fiber, protein, and fat, it provides calories without the nutrition that helps us feel full. So, just like with soda, kids who are drinking fruit juice are getting extra calories on top of the real food that actually makes them feel full.

Original article: Wu AJ, Aris IM, Rifas-Shiman SL, Oken E, Taveras EM, Hivert MF. Longitudinal associations of fruit juice intake in infancy with DXA-measured abdominal adiposity in mid-childhood and early adolescence. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021 Jul 1;114(1):117-123. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab043. PMID: 33829237; PMCID: PMC8246602.

What kind of study was this?

This was an observational study that followed participants over time, which means that researchers did not change, intervene, or experiment in any way with the participants. They just measured different things at different times in the same group of people.

What did researchers want to know?

This study was part of a larger study that measured many different things in mothers before they gave birth and then continued to measure different things in the child for years afterward. In this smaller part of the study, they wanted to know if fruit juice consumption in one-year-olds was connected to these kids having more adipose tissue (body fat) later on in childhood.

What did the researchers actually do?

When the child was one year old, the researchers asked parents how much fruit juice the child consumed each day on average. Then, as a part of the larger study at ages eight and 13, each child underwent a DXA scan, which is an X-ray that can precisely measure adipose tissue (body fat) in the body.

Then the researchers ran statistical analyses to see if there were connections between fruit juice consumption at one year old and adipose tissue at ages eight and 13.

What did the researchers find?

They found that drinking fruit juice was connected to greater adipose tissue later in childhood.

What does this mean for parents and kids?

Avoid fruit juice. It could contribute to greater body fat in children. Because it’s full of sugar but has no fiber, protein, and fat, it provides calories without the nutrition that helps us feel full. So, just like with soda, kids who are drinking fruit juice are getting extra calories on top of the real food that actually makes them feel full.

Original article: Wu AJ, Aris IM, Rifas-Shiman SL, Oken E, Taveras EM, Hivert MF. Longitudinal associations of fruit juice intake in infancy with DXA-measured abdominal adiposity in mid-childhood and early adolescence. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021 Jul 1;114(1):117-123. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab043. PMID: 33829237; PMCID: PMC8246602.

What kind of study was this?

This was an observational study that followed participants over time, which means that researchers did not change, intervene, or experiment in any way with the participants. They just measured different things at different times in the same group of people.

What did researchers want to know?

This study was part of a larger study that measured many different things in mothers before they gave birth and then continued to measure different things in the child for years afterward. In this smaller part of the study, they wanted to know if fruit juice consumption in one-year-olds was connected to these kids having more adipose tissue (body fat) later on in childhood.

What did the researchers actually do?

When the child was one year old, the researchers asked parents how much fruit juice the child consumed each day on average. Then, as a part of the larger study at ages eight and 13, each child underwent a DXA scan, which is an X-ray that can precisely measure adipose tissue (body fat) in the body.

Then the researchers ran statistical analyses to see if there were connections between fruit juice consumption at one year old and adipose tissue at ages eight and 13.

What did the researchers find?

They found that drinking fruit juice was connected to greater adipose tissue later in childhood.

What does this mean for parents and kids?

Avoid fruit juice. It could contribute to greater body fat in children. Because it’s full of sugar but has no fiber, protein, and fat, it provides calories without the nutrition that helps us feel full. So, just like with soda, kids who are drinking fruit juice are getting extra calories on top of the real food that actually makes them feel full.

Original article: Wu AJ, Aris IM, Rifas-Shiman SL, Oken E, Taveras EM, Hivert MF. Longitudinal associations of fruit juice intake in infancy with DXA-measured abdominal adiposity in mid-childhood and early adolescence. Am J Clin Nutr. 2021 Jul 1;114(1):117-123. doi: 10.1093/ajcn/nqab043. PMID: 33829237; PMCID: PMC8246602.

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