Orange juice for breakfast increases risk of childhood obesity, study finds
Children who drink orange juice for breakfast are raising their risks of obesity by as much as 50 percent, according to a study conducted in Austria, and it's raising some concerns from parents.
Researchers surveyed 652 children about their daily diets for the study published in the European Congress on Obesity. They learned that those who drank juice in the morning on average three times a week were 50 percent more overweight compared to those who simply had water.
At least 29 percent of the kids in the survey were overweight and obese. Those who drank water for breakfast, however, were 40 percent less likely to have weight problems.
Researchers also learned that kids who skipped breakfast were likely to grab snacks for the rest of the day, which also increased their risk of obesity. Those who ate breakfast, however, were on average three pounds lighter than the other children.
The researchers recommended that instead of orange juice or apple juice, parents let their kids eat actual fruits. Dr. Maria Luger, the head of the study, also advised parents to watch the amount of sugar their kids consume during breakfast.
"It's very important to get a lot of fibre. So eat an apple or an orange instead of drinking fruit juice," Luger said.
A 350ml glass of fruit juice has at least nine teaspoons of sugar. Aside from obesity, children could develop teeth problems because of their high sugar diet.
Dietitian Aisling Pigott of the British Dietetic Association, however, told Huffington Post UK that the findings should not alarm parents into drastically cutting fruit juice in their kids' meals altogether.
"We are keen to promote the benefits of fruit juice because it does have vitamins and minerals, and if the bits haven't been removed there's more fiber in there," Pigott said. "But what we do know is that it's very easy to drink large volumes of fruit juice, which provides no additional benefits to a very small amount."
Pigott suggested that if kids love to drink fruit juice for breakfast, then parents could dilute the sugar content by adding more water. The recommended amount for children was up to 100ml of fruit juice daily.
