Kids Drink Too Much Juice
If all that arsenic-in-juice talk wasn't scaring you off fruit juices, then maybe this will. Researchers at the University of Michigan found that one in three kids under the age of 6 drink more than twice the recommended amount of juice a day.
More than one-third of 606 parents surveyed nationally reported that their 1-to-5-year-old drank two or more cups of juice on an average day. The American Academy of Pediatrics (AAP) advises that kids less than 6 years old drink just one cup a day, if any, and only of 100 percent fruit juice.
Of these parents, those with a yearly household income less than $30,000 were more likely to give their kids more fruit juice. Parents with incomes of $100,000 or more were less likely, with 23 percent of parents reporting two or more cups of juice a day.
Researchers recommend that parents start feeding their children whole fruit, since, "Parents may think juice is an easy way for their child to get a serving of fruit, but it's often difficult to pick out 100 percent fruit juice amid the sugar-sweetened juice drinks," study researcher Sarah Clark told Live Science. Hint: Juice boxes probably aren't your best bet.
Click here to see the Best and Worst Juice Drinks for Kids.