What American children drink

You might expect that soft drinks would be the most consumed beverage group by American children, but the latest US National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey for 2013 to 2016 shows this is not so.

For children of all age groups – 2 to 5, 6 to 11 and 12-19 – water tops the table, followed by milk until the age of 12.

In fact, water builds to an almost 50% share for teenagers, while milk drops from 32% for the youngest to 14% for teenagers.

Soft drinks rise to 22% for teenagers, less than half the share of water.

Girls depend on water more than boys, who drink a higher share of everything else.

The overall figures for all age groups are:

In terms of children’s nutrition, it is significant that: “ For all Americans aged two years and older, milk is the number one food source of three of the four under-consumed nutrients of public health concern identified by the 2015-2020 Dietary Guidelines for Americans, namely calcium, vitamin D and potassium.”