Most Americans Drink Less Juice Than Guidelines Allow, Study Finds

Researchers recovered that Americans who drank 100% consequence juice had healthier diets, higher nutrient scores, and stayed wrong line limits, suggesting juice whitethorn thief span nutritional gaps without pushing retired full fruit.

Study: Consumption of 100% Juice and Diluted 100% Juice Is Associated pinch Better Compliance pinch Dietary Guidelines for Americans: Analyses of NHANES 2017–2023. Image Credit: Elenia Photo  / Shutterstock

In a caller article successful nan journal Nutrients, researchers analyzed patterns of axenic and diluted juice depletion successful nan United States crossed different groups to measure its narration pinch fare quality. Their findings show astir Americans devour good beneath nan Dietary Guidelines for Americans (DGA) limits connected juice intake. However, juice depletion was linked to amended fare quality, including higher intake of fruit, full grains, vitamin C, potassium, and calcium, and little intake of added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat.

Background

The DGA recommendations for 2020–2025 counsel limiting 100% consequence juice. Excessive intake whitethorn adhd unnecessary calories. Recommendations alteration by age, from ½ cup regular for children aged 2–3 years to 1.25 cups for big men. At slightest half of consequence intake should travel from full consequence to supply capable fiber.

Despite these guidelines, nationalist surveys show that 100% juice depletion successful nan U.S. is low. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), which adhd calories without nutritional benefits, are consumed successful overmuch larger amounts, particularly by children and young adults. Paradoxically, concerns astir puerility obesity person been much powerfully linked to 100% juice alternatively than SSB consumption, moreover though SSBs are consumed acold much widely. While trends successful SSB intake person been good studied, less U.S. studies person examined caller patterns of 100% juice aliases diluted juice intake.

Orange and pome juice stay nan main sources of consequence juice, and past investigation has shown that juices tin supply bioactive compounds and lend positively to fare quality. Beverage patterns centered connected juice and milk, for instance, were associated pinch healthier diets compared to SSB-heavy patterns.

About nan study

Researchers utilized National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) 2017–2020 and 2021–2023 cycles to analyse really juice intake varies by demographic and socioeconomic factors, and whether juice depletion is linked to amended fare value and reduced nutritional disparities, comparing intake to pediatric and DGA recommendations.

Their dataset included 4,086 children aged betwixt 5 and 19, and 10,925 adults. NHANES collects dietary intake utilizing 2 24-hour recalls pinch a multi-pass method, wherever trained interviewers grounds each foods and beverages consumed, including amounts and eating occasions. The Food Patterns Equivalents Database (FPED) converted reported foods into standardized cup-equivalents for consistency pinch DGA nutrient groups.

Participants were stratified by age, sex, ethnicity/race, and income-to-poverty ratio (IPR), which reflects family income comparative to poorness thresholds. Beverage intake was grouped into six categories: low-calorie drinks, SSBs, 100% juice, diluted juice (practically nonexistent successful consumption, without added sugar), water, and milk.

Two measures of dietary value were used: nan Healthy Eating Index 2020, a 100-point standard assessing adherence to nan DGA, and nan Nutrient Rich Food Index, which scores diets based connected 9 nutrients to promote and 3 to limit (sodium, saturated fat, and added sugar).

Analyses estimated mean intakes, percentiles, and demographic differences utilizing chi-square tests and generalized linear models, pinch adjustments for power intake and study weights. Compliance pinch DGA juice recommendations was besides assessed by categorizing individuals’ regular juice intake. Whole consequence and juice depletion ratios were calculated to measure whether juice was displacing full fruit.

Key findings

The study showed that only astir one-quarter of participants consumed immoderate 100% consequence juice (including diluted versions) complete 2 callback days. Consumption was much communal among younger children, older adults, lower-income groups, and circumstantial ethnic/racial minorities, peculiarly Mexican American and non-Hispanic Black individuals.

Water was by acold nan astir consumed beverage, followed by milk, SSBs, pinch juice contributing comparatively small overall. Children successful lower-income households tended to portion much 100% juice and little full consequence compared pinch higher-income children, though diluted juice intake was somewhat higher successful wealthier groups.

Compliance pinch DGA limits was widespread: astir 95% of participants consumed nether 1 cup/day, and 88% consumed nether ½ cup/day. Only a mini fraction of young children exceeded age-specific recommendations. Importantly, juice intake did not look to displace full consequence astatine nan organization level. However, nan mean juice-to-whole consequence ratio was 0.4, wrong DGA guidance, and higher successful lower-income groups and young children.

Consumers of 100% juice had importantly higher dietary value scores. Both Healthy Eating Index and Nutrient Rich Food Index scores were greater among juice drinkers, reflecting higher intakes of fruit, full grains, vitamin C, potassium, and calcium, and little intakes of added sugar, sodium, and saturated fat. Vegetable intake differences were little consistent, and non-consumers scored somewhat higher for dairy.

Conclusions

This study highlights that 100% consequence juice depletion successful nan U.S. is mostly debased and good wrong DGA limits, pinch only a mini number exceeding recommended amounts. Notably, juice depletion was linked pinch higher-quality diets overall, indicating that it whitethorn substitute for little nutritious beverages specified arsenic SSBs alternatively than displacing full fruit.

Strengths see nationally typical information and robust measures of dietary quality; however, limitations see reliance connected self-reported 24-hour recalls, imaginable misreporting among children, and nan cross-sectional design, which precludes causal inference.

In conclusion, while nan DGA emphasizes limiting juice, these findings propose that humble juice depletion supports fare value and whitethorn thief trim disparities successful consequence intake. The authors accent that nan economical costs of gathering DGA consequence recommendations is simply a awesome obstruction and reason that affordability and accessibility of full consequence should beryllium cardinal successful early guidelines.