Kids' Fruit Drinks, Juices Contain A Day's Worth of Sugar

Many fruit drinks and juices for children load children with sugar---a full day's worth in just one serving, says a new British study.

Explaining that she was not surprised, Pamela Koch, executive director of the nutrition program at Teachers College, Columbia University, in New York City, said: "I believe the results would be very similar if this study was conducted with fruit drink products available in the United States."

"Many fruit drinks are excessively high in added sugars, as this study found. Yet, these are often marketed as healthful products, confusing parents and children," she said.

The British study team was led by Simon Capewell, Professor at the Institute of Psychology, Health and Society at the University of Liverpool.

His team measured the levels of "free" sugars in 200-milliliter sizes (nearly 7 ounces) of 203 fruit drinks, 100 percent natural juices and smoothies that were directed for children.

Free sugars, such as glucose, fructose, sucrose, and table , as well as naturally occurring sugars in honey, syrups, fruit juices and fruit juice concentrates, were part of the drinks.

Almost half the children's drinks showed that they had, at least, the entire day's recommended maximum sugar intake of 19 grams (five teaspoons) of sugar.

Capewell explained that even as parents understood more about the high sugar content of sodas and sweet beverages, a number of them "opt for seemingly healthier fruit juice and smoothie alternatives."

"Unfortunately, our research shows that these parents have been misled," he said. "The sugar content of the fruit drinks, including natural fruit juices and smoothies tested, is unacceptably high. And smoothies are among the worst offenders."

Hence, it is important that parents should give their children fresh fruit juice that is unsweetened and diluted, to be served only during meals. They should be limited to just 150 ml (about 5 ounces) a day.

It is also important that manufacturers should not add so much sugar to the juices.

Nancy Copperman, a nutritionist and assistant vice president of public health at Northwell Health in Great Neck, N.Y., agrees with manufacturers that excessive "empty calories" in fruit drinks and juices is a global problem.

"The 2015 U.S. Dietary Guidelines recommends limiting added sugars to less than 10 percent of children's total calories and promotes eating fruit, rather than drinking 100 percent juice, to meet the suggested daily servings of fruits and vegetables," Copperman said.

However, she made one distinction. "In this study, the sugar content of 100 percent juices were higher than juice drinks. However, the sugar in the pure juice was from the naturally occurring form of sugars found in fruit," Copperman said. "Fruit drinks and smoothies contained added sugars -- such as high fructose corn syrup -- which are not naturally present in fruit or fruit juices and significantly add to empty calories."

The study was published March 24, 2016, in the online journal BMJ Open.