Weight gain for kids: it’s all in the juice box

There are no “hidden calories”. Just look at the nutrition label and you will see in seconds the amount of calories, carbohydrates, sugar, protein and fat. Juice Boxes – 100% natural juice filled with calories and sugar and can add hundreds of calories a day that are not needed and are easily replaced with no-calorie and sugar-free alternatives.

“Natural fruit juices are NOT natural:

Orange, grape or apple juice, whether squeezed or squeezed by Tropicana or Motts, are not “natural.” Quarters of orange juice or apples do not grow on trees nor do boxes of grape juice grow on vines. It is the fruit itself that is “natural” and healthy. Squeezing and handling the fruit only removes the protective fibers, making stomach absorption even faster. The result is a highly palatable, convenient, and inexpensive drink that has hundreds of additional calories. Coinciding with the rise in childhood obesity, there was the move from fruit juices from purely breakfast beverages to all-day beverages. Children have a juice box as they might drink and drink a glass of water.

Fruit juice has become the preferred beverage for many young children to replace milk and water.

Juice boxes are everywhere: at home, at school, at daycare, and of course in vending machines. The juice is aggressively marketed as a “healthy drink for growing bodies.” It is the new milk. Packed in small, easy-to-hold boxes with their own straw, they can be taken everywhere. With labels saying how healthy they are and with flavors designed to appeal, it’s no wonder such a problem exists. Drinking fruit juices, especially citrus fruits, causes rapid rises and falls in blood sugar and you need more and more sugar. Fruit juices do not contain fiber, and children who drink them regularly rarely drink water. Not all fruit juices are 100% juices. Some contain high fructose corn syrup or other sweeteners, as well as artificial colors and preservatives. Most juice boxes have 100 calories and 20 grams of sugar. A child who drinks only one box of juice a day, similar to soda or sports drinks, will gain 10 pounds. in a year if it represents an excess of calories. Most children don’t cut calories throughout the day to make up for the extra calories in juice. They quickly become a source of extra calories that were never needed in the first place.

“There are NO hidden calories in drinks:

The calories in beverages are not hidden, but are listed directly on the Nutrition Facts label, but many people don’t realize how many calories beverages can contribute to their daily intake. As you can see in the example below, the calories in drinks can add up. However, the good news is that there are many zero-calorie or near-zero-calorie alternatives. Check out the list below to calculate how many calories your kids and teens are adding from these drinks:

Calories in 12 and 20 oz. sugary drinks

Type of Drink

Fruit punch ———– 192 —– 320

100% apple juice — 192 —— 300

100% orange juice – 168 —– 280

Lemonade – ———– 168 —– 280

Regular Lemon / Lime Soda – 148 — 247

Regular glue —————— 136 — 227

Sugary Lemon Iced Tea – 135-225

Regular ginger ale ———— 124 –207

Sports drink – ——————– 99 —- 165

Water fitness- —————— 18 —— 36

Unsweetened Iced Tea – ——- 2 ——– 3

Diet soda (with aspartame) — 0 * ——– 0 *

Carbonated water (unsweetened) – 0 —- 0

Water ————————————— 0 —- 0

* Some diet sodas may contain a small amount of calories that are not listed on the Nutrition Facts label.

(USDA National Nutrient Database for standard reference)

Consequence of a single drink of 100-130 calories every day for a year:

Remember that 100 calories a day from any food or drink adds up to 10 pounds. weight gain for a year. Combine the calories with all the sugar in one tasty drink and you’ve got a waistline disaster for adults, kids, and teens – an extra 100 calories a day translates to a 2-inch increase in waist diameter. Every 2 inches increases obesity-related complications by 17%

Normal weight gain in children and adolescents:

With more than 33% of children and adolescents overweight and 14% actually obese, the extra calories in some of these beverages become crucial in reducing childhood obesity. If you look at the charts that show normal growth and height for children ages 6 to 16, you will see that it is normal for a child to gain about 10 pounds. Adding a single box of juice doubles the weight gain one day to 20 pounds. one year.

The goal cannot be additional weight gain:

The concept for many families is not always to seek weight loss in growing children, just the end of additional weight gain may be enough for some. For others, it is simply necessary to reduce the annual weight gain to zero. Very few children and adolescents need to reduce their weight in significant amounts.

The ideal plan is to let normal growth and development result in the overweight child reaching normal weight in one to two years and the normal weight child who overeats to remain normal.