Is sugar-sweetened beverage consumption associated with increased fatness in children?
OBJECTIVE
We assessed whether sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) consumption increases fatness in British children.


METHODS
Data from a subsample of the Avon Longitudinal Study of Parents and Children were analyzed. Diet was assessed at ages 5 y (n = 521) and 7 y (n = 682) using 3-d diet diaries. Beverages were categorized into SSB, low energy, fruit juice, milk, and water. Fat mass was measured at age 9 y using dual-energy x-ray absorptiometry. The association between consumption of SSB at each age and fatness was examined using linear regression adjusted for potentially confounding variables.


RESULTS
SSB accounted for 15% of all drinks consumed and 3% of total energy intake at both ages. There was no evidence of an association between SSB consumption at 5 or 7 y of age and fatness at age 9 y. There was a small positive correlation between low-energy drinks at age 5 and 7 y and fatness at 9 y (age 5 y, rho = 0.21, P < 0.001; age 7 y, rho = 0.16, P < 0.001), which was explained by existing overweight status at ages 5 and 7 y.


CONCLUSIONS
In this cohort of British children there was no evidence of an association between SSB consumption at age 5 or 7 y and fatness at age 9 y. The positive relation between consumption of low-energy beverages and fatness at 9 y, which was explained by overweight status at 5 and 7 y, suggests that heavier children may consume low-energy beverages as part of an ineffective weight-control program.
Johnson
Laura
L
MRC Human Nutrition Research, Cambridge, United Kingdom. laura.johnson@mrc-hnr.cam.ac.uk
Mander
Adrian P
AP
Jones
Louise R
LR
Emmett
Pauline M
PM
Jebb
Susan A
SA
D015502:Absorptiometry, Photon / Q000379:methods; D000273:Adipose Tissue / Q000000981:diagnostic imaging / Q000254:growth & development; D050154:Adiposity / Q000187:drug effects*; D001628:Beverages; D001823:Body Composition / Q000187:drug effects*; D015992:Body Mass Index; D001835:Body Weight; D002648:Child; D002664:Child Nutritional Physiological Phenomena; D002675:Child, Preschool; D015331:Cohort Studies; D019422:Dietary Sucrose / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D002149:Energy Intake; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D016014:Linear Models; D008297:Male; D009749:Nutrition Surveys; D009765:Obesity / Q000209:etiology*; D006113:United Kingdom
D019422:Dietary Sucrose