Fruit Juice Benefits Pre-Teen Girls Long-Term 2023

Boston University Chobanian and Avedisian School of Medicine Professor Lynn L. Moore published online study in Beverages. Moore and her colleagues found that pre-teen girls who drank 100% fruit juice got long-term nutritional benefits without weight gain throughout adolescence, independent of race.

“While total fruit intake and particularly whole fruit intake may have increased in recent years, among younger children, this is not the case for older children,” stated Dr. Moore.

Teens take half the daily recommended quantity of whole fruit. “This study showed that teen girls who drank 100% juice were about twice as likely to meet Dietary Guideline recommendations for whole fruit as girls who didn’t drink juice,” he said.

In this study, black girls consumed 100% juice consistently throughout adolescence despite declines in total fruit and whole fruit intakes. Thus, 100% fruit juice contributed significantly to teenage fruit consumption.” In this study, higher preadolescent 100% fruit juice intakes were linked to higher adolescent whole fruit and total fruit intakes and healthier diets.

Pre-Teen Girls Who Drink Fruit Juice Benefit Nutritionally.

Black and white females who drank the most juice (>=1.25 cups per day) had the lowest BMIs, whereas nonfruit juice drinkers had the highest. At the end of adolescence (ages 19-20), girls who drank 1.25 cups of 100% fruit juice daily had a BMI 1.7 kg/m2 lower than those who didn’t.

The prospective National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute’s National Growth and Health Study examined more than 2,100 girls’ 3-day food records, height, and weight over 10 years. Black and white females numbered similarly. Diet quality was examined using Healthy Eating Index (HEI) ratings, and whole and total fruit consumption was compared to DGA recommendations at each age.

The study found:

• Girls who drank 100% fruit juice throughout preadolescence ate more whole fruit and total fruit, independent of race.

White and black girls who drank 100% fruit juice during preadolescence were more than twice as likely to fulfill current Dietary Guideline guidelines for whole fruit and total fruit intake throughout adolescence.

In this study, children who drank the most fruit juice had the lowest adolescent BMI.

This study reinforces prior results that preteen and adolescent juice consumption may improve diet quality and whole fruit intake without affecting weight.

This study suggests juice consumption may increase whole fruit and total fruit intake. “Even children drinking more than 1 cup of fruit juice a day had better diet quality and lower BMI than those drinking none,” said Dr. Moore.

“Fruit juice, in appropriate quantities, has a useful role in a healthful diet for adolescents,” says co-author Dr. Stephen R. Daniels. Fruit juice can help teens get enough fruit.