Children who drink fruit juice have a higher risk of developing asthma

A new study revealed that children who drink fruit juice or whose mothers drank sugary drinks while pregnant are more likely to have asthma
Researchers from Harvard University examined 1,000 mother-child pairs to find that kids were 79 percent more likely to have asthma if they regularly drank juice
Women who consumed soda and sugary drinks while pregnant were 70 percent more likely to have a child develop asthma by mid-childhood

Published: 20:23 GMT, 19 December 2017 | Updated: 22:49 GMT, 19 December 2017

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Children who drink sugary fruit juice or whose mothers drank soda while pregnant are more likely to develop asthma, a new study suggests.

Researchers found that kids who had the most total fructose in their diets earlier in childhood were 79 percent more likely to develop asthma than children who rarely or never had sugary drinks.

Women who consumed soda and sugary beverages during pregnancy were 70 percent more likely to have a child diagnosed with asthma by mid-childhood than mothers who never or rarely had sodas during pregnancy.

The findings add to the evidence of the damaging effects of sugary diets and experts warn women to avoid sodas during pregnancy to avoid gestational diabetes and other complications.

Children who regularly drink juice are 79 percent more likely to develop asthma than those who do not, according to a new study from Harvard University

Researchers from Harvard University examined data regarding eating habits from 1,000 mother-child pairs as well as information on children's health, including whether they had an asthma diagnosis by ages seven to nine.

They used this information to assess the connection between childhood asthma, sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages.

'Previous studies have linked intake of sugary beverages with obesity, and obesity with asthma,' said study co-author Sheryl Rifas-Shiman.

After researchers factored in whether children were overweight or obese, kids with the highest fructose consumption were still 77 percent more likely to have asthma.

The study published in the Annals of the American Thoracic Society showed that mothers who consumed more sugary drinks tended to be heavier and have less income and education than women who generally avoided sodas and sweet drinks.

However the connection between sodas, sugary drinks and childhood asthma persisted even after accounting for these demographic factors.

'In addition to influencing asthma through increasing the risk of obesity, we found that sugary beverages and high fructose may influence the risk of asthma not entirely through obesity,' said Rifas-Shiman.

THE GREAT ASTHMA MYTH

A third of adults diagnosed with asthma may not actually have the condition, research suggested in January.

Experts think many people are misdiagnosed with the condition, while others recover to the extent the asthma is no longer active.

The Canadian team said doctors are too often diagnosing their patients with asthma without doing the proper tests.

'Doctors wouldn't diagnose diabetes without checking blood sugar levels, or a broken bone without ordering an X-ray,' lead author Professor Shawn Aaron, of the University of Ottawa, said.

'But for some reason many doctors are not ordering the spirometry tests that can definitely diagnose asthma.'

'This finding suggests that there are additional mechanisms by which sugary beverages and fructose influence asthma risks beyond their effects on obesity,' she added.

The study was not a controlled experiment designed to prove how sodas or sugary drinks might cause asthma.

Another limitation to the study is that researchers relied on women to accurately recall and report on soda consumption for themselves and their young children, which may not always be accurate.

'We don't know for certain the exact pathways by which sugary beverages and fructose lead to asthma,' Rifas-Shiman said. 'We believe at least in part they act by increasing inflammation, which may influence the child's lung development.'

'Healthy eating during pregnancy is critical to their baby's growth and development of chronic diseases such as asthma later in life,' said Dr Leda Chatzi, a researcher at the University of Southern California who wasn't involved in the study.

'A healthy dietary pattern during pregnancy contains a variety of food groups, including fruits and vegetables, breads and grains, protein sources and dairy products, she added'