Early sips to adult slips: How sweet drinks in childhood fatten future
A recent study evaluating the connection between childhood consumption of sweet drinks and adult obesity was published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition. Their findings have consequences for dietary interventions for young children since they show that early consumption of sweet beverages is linked to increased adiposity and less healthful eating habits in adulthood. Consuming sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) as a child has been linked to an increased risk of obesity. Nonetheless, a lot of research treats fruit juices without added sugar, carbonated beverages, and all other sweetened beverages equally. To improve dietary interventions to lower adult obesity, it is important to look at SSBs and fruit juices separately to determine which are linked to negative outcomes. Consuming SSBs might also be a sign of a diet high in calories, in which case cutting them out of the diet wouldn’t result in a noticeable decrease in energy intake.
The purpose of this study was to investigate the hypothesis that, in terms of how they affect adiposity outcomes, sugary drinks are all in the same category. They also investigated whether gender differences exist in the way people react to different types of beverages and whether their influence should be viewed in the context of a larger dietary pattern. Children born in Bristol, United Kingdom, between April 1991 and December 1992 made up the study sample. When the kids were two, three, four, seven, eleven, and thirteen years old, their diet was graded at six points. When the children were two years old, their caregivers were questioned about whether or not they had eaten fruit juices, such as squash and apple juice, and carbonated drinks like cola between the ages of 15 months and 2 years. They characterized drinking before the age of two as early exposure to alcohol.
To provide information about dietary patterns, their carers completed a food frequency questionnaire during the subsequent dietary assessment. They noted the consumption of fatty foods, sweet-tasting foods, fruits, and vegetables, as well as other foods like pizza, meat, and fish. When the kids were four and seven years old, caregivers filled out three-day food diaries; at eleven and thirteen, the kids filled out the diaries themselves. To determine their BMI, their weight and height were recorded. The amount of abdominal fat surrounding the organs was used to calculate the Android fat mass. Their total fat mass at 24 years old was the other main result. The mother’s prenatal weight, her age at childbirth, her partner’s education and BMI, the mother’s and her partner’s occupation, and deprivation in terms of income, health deprivation, disability, employment, housing, education, training, and skills were all taken into account when analyzing the data using hierarchical regression equations. Groups of men and women were examined independently.
Cola consumption was linked to increased adiposity in men; on average, those who abstained from apple juice had a higher BMI. Female adiposity was found to be higher when fruit squash was consumed, as opposed to pure fruit juice. Next, the researchers investigated whether the relationships they observed were caused by the dietary pattern as a whole or just the sweet drinks. At three years old, children who drank cola, fruit squash, or fizzy drinks consumed less non-starch polysaccharides but more energy, protein, carbohydrates, and non-milk extrinsic sugars. Apple juice drinkers consumed less fat and more healthy sugars and proteins. These correlations suggest that since SSBs don’t contain fat or protein, overall dietary patterns must be different.
In addition to eating more pizza, French fries, sausages, burgers, chocolate, candies, and fruit, boys who drank fruit squash, carbonated drinks, and cola also ate more meat and less fruit. Apple juice drinkers consumed more salad, fish, fruits, and green veggies. For girls, comparable trends were observed. An additional intriguing discovery revealed that boys who drank cola before turning two also drank more energy between the ages of four and nine. At four years old, girls who drank apple juice had lower energy intake. According to regression analysis, a man’s diet at the age of 24 could predict his body fat; eating root vegetables, burgers, sausages, and French fries when he was three years old had a significant impact. Female participants showed similar results; additionally, their fat mass was higher in those who did not eat fresh fruit or biscuits. Children who experience greater levels of social deprivation are more likely to drink cola and less likely to drink fruit juice.
These results suggest a significant relationship between early consumption of sweet beverages and health outcomes well into adulthood. Children’s beverage choices are influenced by the socioeconomic and demographic makeup of their family; children from more disadvantaged homes are more likely to be given unhealthy drinks like cola and less likely to be given relatively healthier drinks like pure fruit juice. The study adds to the increasing amount of evidence showing early childhood dietary habits have a major impact on adult obesity risk. Controlling energy intake during infancy and early childhood through nutritional interventions may help reduce adult obesity.