Researchers from Deakin University in Melbourne found that primary school children who drink fruit juices and fruit drink are more likely to be overweight or obese than those who don’t.
They investigated the intake of fast foods, packaged snacks, sugary drinks, fruit and vegetables of Australian primary school children, looking for a relationship between the consumption of these foods and weight gain.
The children who drank more than two glasses (500ml) of fruit juice and fruit drinks on the day of “snapshot” research were more likely to be overweight or obese than those who did not.
Children who drank more than three glasses on the day were more than twice as likely to be overweight or obese.
The study also showed that children ate a lot of snack foods. Although these weren’t associated with weight gain, they displaced food with higher nutritional benefit.
Read more: Press release, Deakin University, 20 March 2007 (PDF)