Source of sugar in diet linked to weight gain by study of youngsters

Children who consume most of their sugar from milk or fruit rather than cakes or sweets are less likely to go on to be overweight or obese, according to researchers.

Academics from the University of Groningen and University Medical Centre Groningen in the Netherlands explored if the source of sugar, not just the amount, impacted weight gain.

The team analysed data from GEKCO Drenthe, an ongoing study of children born in Drenthe between 2006 and 2007.

Answers to a food intake questionnaire, completed by the parents of 891 children when they were three years old, were used to calculate daily sugar intake.

Some 102 children who were a normal weight at age three were overweight or obese by 10 or 11.

Researchers found that a higher intake of sugar from snacks like cakes or sweets led to a higher BMI z score when the child was older.

A higher sugar intake from fruit or unsweetened dairy products like milk was linked to less weight gain. Children who had the highest intake of these products at age three had a 67% lower risk of going on to be obese or overweight at 10 or 11 compared to those with the lowest intake.

Junyang Zou, of the University of Groningen’s department of epidemiology, suggested the findings, which were presented at the European Congress on Obesity in Venice, mean children “should be encouraged to have fruit and milk instead of sweetened milk and yoghurt drinks, sweets, cakes and other foods rich in added sugar”.

Sugars in fruit are less likely to lead to higher BMI.