Doctors leery of children’s fruit-juice consumption

How much fruit juice should kids drink? Not very much. That’s the essence of the juice policy statement from the American Academy of Pediatrics.

School-age children should limit consumption to eight ounces a day. Preschoolers can have four to six ounces a day, while toddlers should have no more than four ounces a day. Babies should not drink any juice at all.

“The recommendations are centered around two arguments,” said Steven Abrams, a pediatrician at the University of Texas at Austin and one of the authors of the policy statement. Fruit juice is fruit with the fiber and some vitamins taken out and is damaging to the teeth.

When Gary LeRoy, a family physician in Dayton, sees his youngest patients, he appeals to parents’ common sense. “An excessive amount of anything is not good,” he said.

LeRoy helped create a program with his county’s public health board called 5-2-1-0. The name refers to five daily servings of fruit and veggies, a two-hour limit on screen time, one hour of physical activity and zero sugary drinks. It’s a simple rule of thumb for a healthy lifestyle for all county residents, he said.

As for fruit juice specifically, LeRoy said, “If you use juice to count as one of the fruit and vegetable servings, then make sure it is 100 percent fruit juice.”

LeRoy said his practice has a display just outside the exam rooms that shows the total amount of sugar in sodas, energy drinks and fruit juices.

“Our patients see how much sugar is in these drinks,” he said. “The display triggers discussion in the exam room.”

LeRoy talks to young patients and their parents about diet at well-child visits. If he sees a child in a carrier with a bottle of juice, he’ll use that as a teachable moment. He’s got tips, too.

“With little kids, you can add water to 100 percent fruit juice,” he said, satisfying both taste and nutrition goals.