100% fruit juice drinks risk making young children overweight

The option of a glass of fruit juice, even 100% natural, seems not to be ideal for young children: it is better to eat the whole fruit.

Bad news for anyone who thinks that a glass of fruit juice is the equivalent of one of the recommended 5 servings of fruit and vegetables per day. The explanations of Géraldine Zamansky, journalist at Health Magazine on France 5.

franceinfo: A study shows that we should limit this drink, especially for children, and prefer to eat an orange for example?

Geraldine Zamansky: Yes ! Sorry for the parents who were reassured about the balance of their children’s breakfast thanks to morning orange juice. In fact, it is for those under 8 years old that each additional daily glass of this drink can cause the greatest weight gain. This is the implacable conclusion obtained by Canadian researchers from the analysis of 42 studies having followed, in total, nearly 46,000 children and more than 268,000 adults. And, I will immediately disappoint those who hope to escape this verdict with 100% pure juice, without added sugar: it was the only type of juice chosen by these 300,000 volunteers in all.

So replacing soda with fruit juice is not enough to protect children’s health?

No, and the culprit – you may have guessed it – is sugar. On average 20 grams per glass, almost as much as in the most famous soda! This has been verified several times. However, this represents the entire recommended daily dose of sugar for a child, as explained by Dr. Vasenti Malik, she is a nutrition researcher at the University of Toronto and coordinated this immense work. Each additional glass thus leads to an excess of sugar which explains the weight gain. So Dr. Malik recommends not exceeding half a glass of fruit juice per day. But above all, try to avoid this habit and prefer to give a whole fruit to eat.

But what is so different between the whole fruit and its juice for health?

The big difference is the fibers. These famous fibers which are essential to the good health of our digestive tract. With better, less brutal absorption of sugar by the body. And then the vitamin intake is guaranteed. Alongside this routine for his own children, Dr Malik also puts pieces of fruit in jugs of water to recreate a drink they love. Before finishing, a thought for the adults. Of course, proportionally, 20g of sugar impacts them less, but studies still show that with more than 2 glasses per day, the risk of weight gain becomes real. Especially with apple and grape juices, compared to pomegranate juice for example, or even certain “super juices” very rich in vitamins, taken in small quantities.

To go further: The study (in English).