The impact of beverage type intake on energy intake and weight in 12‐month‐old Hispanic infants

According to the 2008 Pediatric Nutrition Surveillance Survey, low‐income Hispanic children aged 2–4 years have the highest prevalence for overweight (18.4 %) compared to non‐Hispanic Whites (12.6 %) and non‐Hispanic Blacks (11.8 %). Current research has found that sugar‐sweetened beverage (SSB) intake may be a major factor contributing to the over consumption of calories among children, therefore linked to increasing obesity prevalence. The objective of this study was to look at how SSB intake impacted overall energy intake and weight status among 12‐month‐old infants from low‐income Hispanic households. Subjects were divided into non‐sugar sweetened beverage (non‐SSB, N=44) consumers and sugar‐sweetened beverage consumers (SSB, N=67). For subjects above the 85th percentile for weight for length, the non‐SSB consumers ingested more calories from plain milk/formula and consumed more calcium (mg/day) but averaged a lower 24‐hour energy intake than the SSB consumers. Vitamin C (mg/day) intake was significantly greater among SSB consumers. SSB consumers tended to consume more daily calories on average than non‐SSB consumers, while milk and calcium intake appeared to be negatively affected. Consumption of high‐energy dense foods, like sugar‐sweetened beverages, is still an important aspect of the diet to target among populations at greatest risk for becoming overweight or obese.