Added sugar displaces food groups lowering quality of preschooler diets

[Guest guest]

Colleagues, the following is FYI and does not necessarily reflect my own

opinion. I have no further knowledge of the topic.

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Public release date: 12-Jan-2005

http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-01/ps-asd011205.php

Contact: Barbara Hale

bah@...

Penn State

Added sugar displaces food groups lowering quality of preschooler diets

American preschoolers get about 14 to 17 teaspoons of added sugar a day,

on average, mostly from fruit-flavored drinks, high-fat desserts and

cola-type soft drinks which displace the grain, vegetable, fruit and

dairy food groups and lower the quality of their diet, a Penn State

study has shown.

Dr. Sibylle Kranz, assistant professor of nutritional sciences who led

the study, says, " In contrast to other researchers, we found that

although the most dramatic decrease in vitamin and mineral intakes were

observed when children had added sugar levels of more than 25 percent of

total calories, consumption of grains, vegetables, fruit and dairy

products and the proportion of children receiving an adequate intake of

calcium were low even at added sugar levels of less than 10 percent of

calories. "

" These results suggest that the new National Academy of Sciences Dietary

Reference Intake which sets a cut-point of 25 percent or less of

calories from added sugar are reason for concern, " she adds. " The U.S.

Department of Agriculture Food Guide Pyramid limits added sugar

consumption to between 6 and 10 percent, and the World Health

organization recommends limiting added sugar consumption to less than 10

percent. "

The study is detailed in the January issue of the Journal of Pediatrics

in a paper, " Adverse Effect of High Added Sugar Consumption on Dietary

Intake in American Preschoolers. " Kranz's co-authors are Dr. Helen

Smiciklas-, professor of nutritional sciences; Dr.

Siega-Riz, associate professor of maternal and child health at the

University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Diane , Penn

State Diet Assessment Center coordinator.

The researchers analyzed the diets of 5437 preschoolers who participated

in the U.S. Department of Agriculture Continuing Survey of Food Intake

by Individuals from 1994 to 1996 and 1998. The participants are a

representative sample of U.S. preschoolers. Children with the highest

level of added sugar intake, 25 percent of calories or more, had the

lowest consumption of most nutrients, and servings of grains,

vegetables, fruits and dairy.

Eleven percent of the two and three year olds and 12 percent of the four

and five year olds consumed 25 percent or more of calories from added

sugar. Average sugar intake was lower among two and three year olds than

among four and five year olds. In addition, non-Hispanic children

consumed higher levels of added sugar than Hispanic children.

Forty percent of the two and three year olds and 70 percent of the four

and five year olds with the highest added sugar intake did not get an

adequate intake of calcium. Even at the lowest added sugar consumption

level studied, 14 percent of the younger children and 39 percent of the

older children didn't receive an adequate intake of calcium.

The researchers note that added sugars are mostly invisible in foods and

can surprise caregivers when presented in teaspoons. For example, the

average added sugar intake of the two and three year olds in the study

was 13.5 teaspoons and the average intake of the four and five year olds

was 17.2 teaspoons. In the highest added sugar consumption group, two

and three year olds were getting 23.1 teaspoons per day and the four and

five year olds were getting 26.4 teaspoons.

Kranz says, " Large, longitudinal studies, examining the long-term effect

of high added sugar diets in young children might help elucidate the

relationship between diet patterns and chronic disease. However, until

more data are available, the DRI for added sugar might adversely affect

young children in the long run. "

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The study was supported by a seed grant from Penn State's College of

Health and Human Development.

--

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