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12 May 202140% of children and 50% of adolescents consume at least one 250 ml serving of sugary drinks per day, according to the study by the GENUD research group of the University of Zaragoza and IIS Aragón
More than 70% of the 167 respondents do not comply with the fluid intake recommendations of the European Food Safety Agency
A high proportion of children and adolescents do not drink enough daily and the consumption of sugary drinks appears to continue increasing in European countries, especially in Spain. However, the evidence is scarce in relation to the real and overall fluid intake in children and adolescents. For this reason, Iris Iglesia, researcher at the GENUD Research Group GIIS066-Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development (GENUD)(Growth, Exercise, Nutrition and Development) of the University of Zaragoza and the Aragón Health Research Institute (IIS Aragón) evaluated the consumption of liquids in a sample of Spanish children and adolescents, differentiating between water and different types of drinks, in different places and times of the day. In this study carried out in 2018, 167 Spanish children and adolescents participated through a cross-sectional liquid intake survey called Liq.In7.
The results of the survey showed that more than 70% of children and adolescents did not meet the reference values set by the European Food Safety Agency* for fluid intake. Additionally, 40% of children and approximately 50% of adolescents consumed at least one 250 ml serving of sugary drink per day, while approximately 20% consumed only one serving of water per day.
The results also showed that children and adolescents drank mainly during main meals (representing 50% and 54% of total fluid intake, in children and adolescents respectively). Water represented 62% of the liquids consumed in the main meal, which means that for many hours a day (between main meals), the young people did not consume liquids. Furthermore, less than 10% of intake occurred at school (9% in children and 7% in adolescents), which is worrying given the importance of good hydration on cognitive performance (1, 2) and the number of hours what happens in it.
The results are of particular concern to researchers Luis Moreno, as principal investigator of the GENUD research group, and to researcher Iris Iglesia, since they imply a worsening of habits in this regard with respect to previous surveys. The most direct recommendation they make is “to take advantage of the hours outside of main meals to increase water consumption” and that this is promoted mainly among adolescents who seem to be doing worse. Furthermore, we should try to encourage water consumption “in spaces other than the home, such as at school,” for example, since the consumption reported in these spaces sometimes does not reach a glass of water.
*The reference values established by EFSA for fluid intake of 1,3, 1,7 and 2 l/day were used for children aged 4 to 8, 9 to 13 and 14 to 18 years, respectively, and were They used 1,3, 1,5 and 1,6 l/day for girls aged 4 to 8, 9 to 13 and 14 to 18 years, respectively.
References
1. EFSA (2011) Scientific opinion on the substantiation of health claims related to water and maintenance of normal physical and cognitive functions (ID 1102, 1294, 1331), maintenance of normal thermoregulation (ID 1208) and “basic requirement of all living things ” (ID 1207) pursuant to Article 13(1) of Regulation (EC) No. 1924/2006.
2. Khan NA, Westfall DR, Jones AR, Sinn MA, Bottin JH, Perrier ET, Hillman CH. A 4-d Water Intake Intervention Increases Hydration and Cognitive Flexibility among Preadolescent Children, The Journal of Nutrition, Volume 149, Issue 12, December 2019, Pages 2255–2264, https://doi.org/10.1093/jn/nxz206