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As U.S. adults have gotten heavier, there has been growing alarm at the number of children who are also overweight. One target of investigation has been whether drinking sweetened beverages contributes to children’s excess weight. Recommendations followed that parents limit or eliminate sweetened beverages from children’s and adolescent’s diets.

Those recommendations are prudent for the well-fed child; however, there is contradictory evidence that 100 percent fruit juice should also be limited because of similar high sugar content. Research findings show that consuming 100 percent fruit juice does not predict weight gain in children in the same way that other sweetened beverages do. In fact, children and adolescents who consumed 100 percent juice have overall healthier diets than those who do not consume juice.

The critical decision is to select 100 percent fruit juice rather than juice drinks/cocktails. Simply fortifying a fruit drink with Vitamin C does not produce a food product equal to 100 percent juice. The added sugar of these drinks is not the same as the natural sugar in the 100 percent juice and they do not have all the other natural compounds found in the juice.

Researchers also found that children in the studies on the average did not drink more 100 percent juice than was recommended by the American Association of Pediatricians. The AAP recommends that juice not be given to infants 6 months of age or younger. Children 1- to 6-years-old should be limited to 4 to 6 ounces of 100 percent juice per day. Older children and adolescents should be limited to two 6-ounce servings. The concern is that high juice consumption will interfere with a child’s appetite for other healthful foods.

Serving 100 percent juice can be one way your family members get the nutrients they need for health. Just keep in mind not all juices are equal in nutrient quality. As with whole fruits and vegetables, juices vary in the amount of health protecting nutrients (antioxidants) that they contain. An easy rule of thumb to use to select the most powerful 100 percent juice is to choose vividly color juices. These antioxidant qualities are often found in the fruit’s color compound; the more highly colored fruit juices contain more of these compounds.