If you know about the kids-and-juice controversy among dietitians, pediatricians, parents and producers, then you realize it is one debate getting milked for all it's worth. If you don't know about the juice controversy, chances are you will benefit from understanding it.
That goes for the perspectives of both kids and adults who drink juice. In 1997, research was published in the medical journal Pediatrics showing that excess fruit juice consumption is associated with obesity and short stature in preschool-age children. The study resulted in widespread publicity and media reports about "reducing the juice" for young kids.
No one type of juice was singled out in the 1997 study, conducted by Dr. Barbara Dennison, a pediatrician with the Mary Imogene Bassett Research Institute in Cooperstown, N.Y. Thirty-nine percent drank mixed juice, mostly a vitamin-fortified brand called Juicy Juice; 30% consumed apple juice; 23% favored orange juice; and 7% were grape juice drinkers.
Dennison acknowledged that more research would be necessary to make a stronger link between juice consumption and overweight children. Dennison's study did not analyze and control for the children's entire diets or their physical activity.
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Now come two new salvos in the juice battle. In April, a longitudinal study published in the Journal of the American Dietetic Assn. concludes that consumption of "100% juice" by 2- to 6-year-olds does not directly affect a child's weight or height. It is the only study with long-term juice intake, which allows for a more accurate correlation between juices consumed and children's growth patterns.
Last month, in its Pediatrics medical journal, the American Academy of Pediatrics released its newest policy statement about fruit juice and kids. It recommends limiting juice intake to 4 to 6 ounces per day for 1- to 6-year-olds. For children 7 to 18, the academy suggests limiting intake to 8 to 12 ounces. Previous recommendations were no juice at all for children 6 months or younger 4 ounces daily between 6 and 18 months, 8 ounces up to 2 years old, then about 12 ounces for older kids.
At the heart of the pediatric group's guidelines is concern that "excessive juice consumption is associated with malnutrition, diarrhea, stomach problems and tooth decay." The academy found it necessary this time around to instruct parents not to give juice to infants or toddlers in bottles or cups that allow them to consume easily throughout the day.
