Parents have been advised against giving fruit juice to 1-year-old babies unless a doctor recommends it.
According to a study conducted by the American Academy of Pediatrics, there is no beneficial role for juice in babies aged below 1year and the experts recommended breastfeeding for that age group.
“We couldn’t really see any reason why juice was still part of the potential recommendation for 6 to 12-month-old kids,” said Dr Steven A. Abrams, chairman of the Department of Pediatrics at the Dell Medical School at the University of Texas.
Previously, the same group of researchers had advised parents to wait to offer juice until a child reached 6 months but made the new decision after rising rates of obesity and tooth cavities that were partly attributed to sugary juice.
They further recommended breastfeeding or formula since kids who got used to juice showed a tendency to refuse taking water.
For a while, parents have been quick to give their babies juice in their attempt to manage diarrhoea but the paediatricians stated that it was not appropriate.
“We primarily are supporting that kids learn how to eat fruit rather than fruit juice,” reiterated Abrams.
The study also revealed that isolating fruit into a liquid form led to easy consumption of excess calories which could harm the body in the long-run.
