New evidence-based recommendations developed by experts from leading health organizations including the AAP encourage children and teens to choose beverages that promote optimal nutrition and hydration.
Children ages 5-18 years are encouraged to drink plain water and plain pasteurized milk. They should limit the amount of 100% fruit and vegetable juice, plant-based milk alternatives and flavored milks they drink. Sugar-sweetened beverages, beverages with non-sugar sweeteners and beverages with caffeine or other stimulants should be avoided.
“The data tells us that a lot of children get a lot of their nutrition and added sugars from the fluids they drink,” said Mark R. Corkins, M.D., FAAP, who served on the panel that developed the guidelines and is chair of the AAP Committee on Nutrition. “However, it is often not in the forefront of parents’ minds. The literature indicates that a big chunk of added sugars found in kids’ diets are from soda and sports drinks, and this is a factor in the resulting obesity numbers.”
The evidence-based recommendations were developed by experts representing the AAP, the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, the American Academy of Pediatric Dentistry and the American Heart Association under the leadership of Healthy Eating Research (HER) and with funding from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation.
Dr. Corkins said a key goal of the recommendations is to ensure children and teens grow up with healthy habits to support their physical and emotional development.
“These new recommendations offer clear, evidence-based guidance to help families make informed decisions about what their kids and teens should drink at every stage of development,” said Dr. Corkins, division chief of pediatric gastroenterology and a professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center and Le Bonheur Children’s Hospital.
Milk is an important source of essential nutrients that are in short supply in the diet because this age group no longer drinks milk like in the past, Dr. Corkins said.
“There was a time when the norm was that children drink milk. Now the parents and children seem to think they don’t need milk anymore once they reach school age,” he said. “For hydration, the best fluid of course is plain water, which is also a nutrient in and of itself.”
Most beverages on the market, such as sports drinks and soda, contain added sugars that can contribute to the risk of dental caries and diet-related diseases like type 2 diabetes and overweight or obesity. Even drinks that contain non-sugar sweeteners —like diet or light drinks — are not as healthy as previously thought given new research showing they may not help control body weight and may increase the risk of diet-related chronic diseases, such as type 2 diabetes and heart disease.
Beverages with caffeine and other stimulants, such as coffee and energy drinks, also are popular, despite evidence suggesting there is no safe amount of caffeine for children under 18 years. Such beverages also can contribute to poor sleep quality, increased blood pressure, depressive moods and anxiety.
To simplify the recommendations for families, beverages were separated into three categories:
- beverages to drink: plain drinking water and plain pasteurized milk
- beverages to limit: 100% juice, plant-based milk alternatives and flavored milks
- beverages to avoid: sports drinks, sodas, fruit drinks, fruitades, aguas frescas, sweetened waters, energy drinks, energy shots, coffee, tea, etc.
HER conducted an extensive review of scientific literature, guidelines from national and international bodies, and reports on childhood and adolescent beverage consumption. It also convened an expert panel of representatives from the health organizations to develop the recommendations. A scientific advisory committee of independent experts also was formed to advise the process and review the preliminary and final recommendations.
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