NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – Children in the US are now getting more of their calories from fruit juice and sugar-sweetened beverages than they were 20 years ago, according to a new analysis of national data published in Pediatrics.

Limiting the consumption of "empty calories" by reducing intake of sugar-sweetened beverages could help kids eat healthier and stay slim, the study's authors, Dr. Y. Claire Wang of the Columbia Mailman School of Public Health in New York City and colleagues, conclude.

However, the authors of another study out this week report that children who drink 100 percent fruit juice are no more likely to be overweight than kids who don't. What's more, say Dr. Theresa A. Nicklas of Baylor College of Medicine in Houston and her team, juice drinkers ate more fruit and had a higher intake of several nutrients including vitamin C, folate and potassium.

"The science clearly shows that 100 percent juice is a valuable contributor of nutrients to children's diets and it's not associated with weight," Nicklas told Reuters Health in an interview. Both sets of researchers looked at the same data: the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES), in which people report what they ate in the previous 24 hours. Wang and her team compared NHANES 1988-1994 and NHANES 1999-2004, while Nicklas and colleagues looked at 1999-2002 NHANES data.

"I don't think we are really saying opposite things," Wang commented. "The focus of our study is to look at the trends."

Wang and her colleagues looked at the percentage of calories consumed as sugar-sweetened beverages and fruit juice from 1988 to 2004. On average, they found, kids two to 19 years old got 242 calories a day from these beverages in 1988-1994, and 270 calories daily in 1999-2004; intake of sugar sweetened beverages increased from 204 to 224 calories daily while fruit juice intake rose from 38 to 48 calories per day.