Fruit juice at breakfast raises chances of children being fat

GIVING children fruit juice at breakfast raises their chances of being fat by half, new research has found.

Those given water first thing also had a 40 per cent lower chance of being overweight or obese.

Researchers have now warned parents they should give youngsters water instead of juice to avoid them piling on the pounds. They also said the study highlights the importance of eating breakfast, as children who ate in the morning were on average three-and-ahalf pounds lighter.

The study, which followed 652 children under the age of 13, had fewer than half eating a daily breakfast, with almost three in 10 skipping it altogether.

Those that regularly drank fruit juice were 50 per cent more likely to be overweight or obese. Maria Luger, the lead researcher from Medical University of Vienna, said: “The average breakfast skipper weighed 8st 8lb (54.8kg) and the average regular breakfast eater weighed 8st5lb (53.2kg).

“The hypothesis is that breakfast skippers eat more junk food, pastries and sweets and drink more soft drinks.

“What we found is that those who usually drank fruit juice and ate pastries had higher odds of being overweight and obese. It was surprising. Juice is quite a healthy drink but it does contain energy.

“Reduce the sugar at breakfast. It’s very important to get a lot of fibre. So eat an apple or an orange instead of drinking fruit juice.”

She also said parents should give their kids water or tea without sugar in the morning.