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Title: Letter to the editor: Taking into account scientific evidence showing the benefits of 100% fruit juice

Author
item NICKLAS, THERESA - Children'S Nutrition Research Center (CNRC)
item KLEINMAN, RONALD - Harvard Medical School
item O'NEIL, CAROL - LSU Agcenter

Submitted to: American Journal of Public Health
Publication Type: Other
Publication Acceptance Date: 8/30/2012
Publication Date: N/A
Citation: N/A

Interpretive Summary:

Technical Abstract: In their recent commentary, Wojcicki and Heyman suggested that 100% fruit juice consumption is linked to childhood obesity and should be eliminated from the United States Department of Agriculture Food Programs. This recommendation is unsupported by the scientific literature, which has failed to show an association between overweight and obesity status and moderate consumption of 100% fruit juice in children, but evidence does support that 100% fruit juice contributes significantly to nutrient intake. One hundred percent fruit juice is a nutrient dense food and the 2010 Dietary Guidelines for Americans endorses consumption of fruit juice and recognizes that it supplies "a substantial amount of nutrients along with the calories they contain." The United States Department of Agriculture also notes that fruit juice, as a complement to whole fruit, provides a convenient way to help reach daily fruit recommendations, with a 4-ounce serving of fruit juice providing a half cup toward the recommendation.