[PHNUTR-L] Added sugar displaces food groups lowering quality of preschooler diets

[Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD]

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 at psu.edu
814-865-9481
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-Wright, professor of nutritional sciences; Dr. Anna Maria 
Siega-Riz, associate professor of maternal and child health at the 
University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill; and Diane Mitchell, 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.
-- 
Kathrynne Holden, MS, RD < fivestar at nutritionucanlivewith.com >
"Ask the Parkinson Dietitian"  http://www.parkinson.org/
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