Estimated read time: 2-3 minutes
This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.
Parents who give their children fruit juice instead of soda because they think it's healthier are in for a big surprise.
According to a new study, fruit juice isn't as good for you as you once thought.
The study by the Centers for Disease Controls finds that "all" sweet drinks, whether it's soda or all-natural apple juice, will make kids fat.
Children who drink sweet drinks may be overweight by the time they're five-years-old. Nutritionists say fruit juice does have vitamins, but it's inferior to fresh fruit. They say it's better for kids to snack on fruit and to drink water or milk.
When it comes to carbohydrates and kids, you need to make sure they're getting enough fiber without too many calories by added sugars.
Healthy Kids
- 2-3 servings of fruit/day
- 2-3 servings of non-fat or low-fat dairy/day
- 60 minutes of physical activity/day Kids need two-to-three servings of fruit a day. Most should come from whole fruit rather than juice. A serving is one medium piece of fruit, six ounces of juice. Kids are supposed to get two-to-three servings of non-fat or low-fat dairy products, or equivalent, a day. And, children should get 60 minutes of physical activity most, if not all, days of the week. Major Sources of Added Sugars in the American Diet
- Soft Drinks 33%
- Sugars and Candy 16%
- Cakes, Cookies, Pies 13%
- Fruit Drinks (Fruitades, Fruit Punch) 10%
- Dairy Desserts 9%
- Other Grains (Cin. Toast, Waffles) 6% Soft drinks are the biggest source of added sugars in the American diet. Other major sources include sugars and candy, cakes, cookies and pies, fruit drinks, dairy desserts and other grains... like cinnamon toast and waffles. Fruit vs. Juice
- Orange = 62 calories, 3.1 grams fiber
- Cup of Orange Juice = 115 calories
- Apple = 80 calories, 3.3 grams of fiber
- Cup of Apple Juice = 115 calories One medium orange has 62 calories and three-point-one gram of fiber Compare that to one cup of orange juice, which has 115 calories. We find the same thing with apple juice. One medium apple has 80 calories and three-point-three grams of fiber. One cup of apple juice also has 115 calories.
