P144 Young Children Who Meet the Dietary Guidelines' Fruit Juice Recommendation Consume More Fluid Milk

Abstract

Background Currently, children 2 to 5 years, on average, consume 1.3 cup equivalent (eq.) fluid milk and 1.2 cup eq. total fruit, of which, 0.45 cup eq. is fruit juice. The 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans recommend limiting fruit juice to one-half of total fruit intake and to increase dairy intake. Objective The research objective was to find out whether children who meet fruit juice recommendation consume significantly different amount of fluid milk than children who do not meet this recommendation. Study Design, Setting, Participants Children 2 to 5 years of age (N=665) who had complete dietary intake on Day 1 of What We Eat in America, National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, 2015-2016 were included in the study. They were divided two groups: those who met the fruit juice recommendation and those who did not meet the fruit juice recommendation. Measurable Outcome/Analysis The groups’ mean intakes of total fruit, intact fruit, 100% fruit juice, and fluid milk were estimated and compared using t-test; P-value less than 0.01 was considered as significantly different. Results Overall, 29 percent of children did not meet the fruit juice recommendation. The mean total fruit intake was not significantly different between the groups; Group 1 had 1.1 ± 0.1 cup eq., and Group 2 had 1.4 ± 0.1 cup eq. However, the proportion of fruit juice consumed by the two groups were strikingly different. The children who meet the fruit juice recommendation consumed only 12 ± 1 percent of their total fruit as fruit juice, whereas, the children who did not meet the fruit juice recommendation consumed 84 ± 1 percent as fruit juice. In addition, the children who did not meet the fruit juice recommendation consumed significantly less fluid milk than the other group, 1.1 ± 0.1 and 1.4 ± 0.07 cup eq., respectively. Conclusion Consuming more than 50 percent of fruit as fruit juice was associated with lower milk intake in young children. Nutrition interventions can help inform caregivers of the importance of limiting fruit juice and simultaneously increasing intact fruit and fluid milk in children's diet. Funding USDA.