Sugar-sweetened beverage (SSB) intake remains high among US children despite considerable recent declines, a new study found. Children aged 2‒18 years from NHANES surveys from 2003, 2005, 2007, 2009, 2011, and 2013 were included. SSBs were all non-diet beverages sweetened with sugars including revising all beverages to as consumed status and excluding soy and dairy-based beverages. The NCI usual intake method was used to estimate usual intake from 2 24-hour recalls. Among the findings:

• Children’s SSB intake remains high, particularly among heavy consumers.
• There were important disparities in intake that persisted over time.
• Although high household income was associated with lower SSB intake in non-Hispanic white (NHW) children, intakes of non-Hispanic black (NHB) and Mexican-American (MA) children were similar or higher than those from poor households.
• The consumption of regular sodas by NHB children was somewhat lower than among MA and NHW children, whereas fruit drink intake was markedly higher.