Fruit juice and childhood obesity: a review of epidemiologic studies

Abstract

Childhood obesity is a national epidemic, and many efforts have been made to understand its risk factors. The purpose of this review was to provide an updated account of the observational studies evaluating the relationship between 100% fruit juice intake and obesity in children and adolescents, and to highlight the major risk factors that may impact this relationship. PubMed and Scopus were searched for terms related to fruit juice and childhood obesity, and studies assessing 100% fruit juice intake in participants ≤ 19 years old, with obesity-related outcomes (BMI or adiposity), and published before March 9, 2021 were included. There were 17 prospective cohort and 14 cross-sectional studies included in the analysis. Overall, the evidence does not support a relationship between 100% fruit juice intake and measures of obesity in most children. There is some evidence to suggest a minor positive association in some overweight or very young children, but due to fundamental differences and limitations in methodology, further investigation is required. Significant gaps in literature on this topic exist particularly in regards to randomized clinical trials in children, and in studies in racially diverse populations.

Keywords:

• Fruit juice
• children
• adolescents
• obesity
• BMI

Author contributions

J.R.S. performed the literature search, collected and interpreted the data, and wrote the initial manuscript. M.P., M.C., M.F., N.R., and O.K.C. critically revised the manuscript. All authors approved the final version of the manuscript.

Disclosure statement

None.

Funding information

None.