CALL THE DENTIST

Study: Juice Is 1/3 of Kids’ Fruit Intake

Instead of actual fruit.

A National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey has found that about one-third of all fruit consumption by kids in the U.S. is from juices instead of actual fruit. Researchers analyzed the eating habits of 3,129 children between age 2 and 19 years and found that about 53 percent of children eat whole fruits each day, while 34 percent consume only 100 percent fruit juice. “Fruits are an important source of nutrients that promote health and protect against chronic disease,” researchers said in a press release. “Researchers found that fruit choices varied according to age and race but did not vary for gender. These findings provide some insight into what fruits children are eating and socioeconomic factors that may influence what fruit children want to eat and are being provided to eat.”