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Preschool children's consumption of drinks: implications for dental health
1Department of Epidemiology and Public Health, Royal Free and University College London Medical School, UK.
Insights
Many preschoolers consume sugary drinks, contributing significantly to their non-milk extrinsic sugars intake. This pattern raises concerns for dental and overall health, necessitating updated dietary guidelines.
Area of Science:
- Pediatric Nutrition
- Dietary Habits
- Public Health
Background:
- Pre-school children's dietary habits are crucial for long-term health.
- Understanding beverage consumption patterns is key to addressing nutritional challenges.
- Non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES) are linked to various health issues, including dental caries.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze the drinking patterns of pre-school children in the UK.
- To investigate the relationship between beverage intake and energy from non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES).
Main Methods:
- Secondary analysis of the National Diet and Nutrition Survey (NDNS) data.
- Involved 1,675 children aged 1.5 to 4.5 years (1992-1993).
- Assessed consumption of various drinks and percentage of energy from NMES.
Main Results:
- Soft drinks were most common, followed by whole milk.
- 56% of children consumed soft drinks daily; younger children preferred whole milk.
- Beverages provided 23% of total energy and 39% of NMES intake.
Conclusions:
- High consumption of low-nutrition, high-sugar drinks is prevalent among pre-schoolers.
- This consumption pattern has significant implications for children's dental and general health.
- Recommendations for children's drink consumption should be integrated into food policy guidelines.
Objective:
To examine drinking patterns in pre-school children and their relationship to percentage of energy intake from non-milk extrinsic sugars.
Design:
Secondary analysis of data from the national diet and nutrition survey (NDNS) relating to the dietary intakes of a representative sample of pre-school children in the UK.
Subjects:
1,675 children aged 1.5 to 4.5 years surveyed between July 1992 and June 1993.
Outcome Measures:
Proportion of consumers, average daily frequency of consumption and estimated seven day volume of consumption of different drinks. Percentage of average daily energy intake obtained from non-milk extrinsic sugars (NMES).
Results:
Soft drinks were the most commonly consumed drinks followed by whole milk and diet or low sugar varieties of soft drinks. Half the sample were estimated to consume more than 1.5 litres of soft drinks and whole milk and over a litre of diet or low-sugar soft drinks per seven days. Fifty-six per cent of the children consumed soft drinks more than once a day. The youngest children (1.5-2.5 years) were more likely to consume whole milk and less likely to consume diet, soft drinks and skimmed milk than other age groups. Children from manual home backgrounds consumed more tea and coffee and were less likely to consume fruit juice than those from non-manual backgrounds. Drinks contributed 23% to total energy intake and 39% of NMES intake. Consumption of soft drinks, fruit juice and whole and semi-skimmed milk accounted for 59% of variance in percentage of energy from NMES.
Conclusions:
A large proportion of pre-school children consume considerable quantifies of soft drinks which have little or no nutritional value and are high in cariogenic non-milk extrinsic sugars. This has implications for children's dental and general health. Recommendations for drinks consumption should be included in food policy guidelines for pre-school children.