You’re probably giving your child way too much 100% fruit juice, study finds

ATLANTA — Something you pull out of your fridge every morning might need a fresh look.

Channel 2′s Linda Stouffer talked to a nutritionist about juice and new research raising concerns.

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Drinking as little as one glass of 100% fruit juice a day may cause a child to gain weight, according to an analysis in the Journal of the American Medical Association.

“Juice can be linked to weight gain and when we have too much weight on us, it can affect our health. Iit can cause obesity, it can cause diabetes, right? It can cause cavities if we’re drinking too much juice and sugary things,” dietitian of CHOA Katherine Shary said.

With Children’s Healthcare of Atlanta Strong4Life, dietician Shary says fruit juice doesn’t have as much fiber as real fruit.

“We want to try and delay juice for as long as we can. When we start to introduce sweet drinks or even sweet foods and treats our children start to desire a preference for sweet foods,” Shary said.

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The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends babies up to age one avoid juice entirely.

For one to three-year-olds, limit to four ounces maximum a day. For four to six-year-olds, limit to six ounces.

Most packaged juice servings are more than that, so health experts want families to consider alternatives.

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“Add frozen fruit to our water, so that the frozen fruit acts as ice cubes. We could add fresh slices of fruit to our water like oranges and mangoes and lemons. When it comes to milk, that is a great drink. We can be drinking milk or milk alternative,” Shary said.

You can also swap orange juice with an orange. The dietician says all foods are OK in moderation, to help tackle one meal at a time.

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