paper pharaphrase

The Connection between Sugar Consumption and Attention in Young Children

Ibrahim Alkhaldi

California State University Northridge

CD 361, Summer 2014

THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SUGAR CONSUMPTION AND ATTENTION IN YOUNG CHILDREN 1

The connection between sugar consumption and attention in young children

The importance of proper nutrition, especially for young children, is widely discussed nowadays. While various data is available on the prevention of obesity and other unwanted physiological conditions, scientists also pay attention to the connection between the diet and cognitive abilities. In particular, some scholars discuss the hypothesis about negative influence of sugar consumption on the ability of the young children to sustain attention and link between sugar and the risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Millich & Pelham (1986) point out that this opinion is shared by parents and teachers as well, which leads to the popularity of low sugar diet for children diagnosed with ADHD. Recent research also draws attention to this issue, trying to identify the connection between ADHD and sugar consumption with the help of various experiments. Let us discuss some examples of such studies in order to find out whether their results support or disprove the hypothesis.

Problems with attention, as well as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, can be triggered by various factors. Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena (2003) discuss the connection between ADHD and nutrition, arguing that certain types of diet and food additives can positively influence patients with ADHD, helping to eliminate its symptoms. At the same time, it is suggested that sugar consumption is detrimental for children’s attention, and that “younger children might be more susceptible to the adverse effects of sugar” (Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena 67). The negative influence of sugar consumption on cognitive abilities and attention can be explained as follows. As the authors (2003) point out, abnormal glucose tolerance, seen in many children at present, can be a symptom of hypoglycaemia, a medical condition “associated with an increased production of epinephrine, which in turn can stimulate a nervous or restless reaction” (Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena 66). Such reactions are often interpreted as symptoms of ADHD. Thus, the connection between high sugar intake and inattentiveness may be indirect and caused by hypoglycaemia, rather than by sugar itself.

Studies of sugar consumption and its effects usually compare responses of children with average attention and children with high ADHD risk or already diagnosed with ADHD, when exposed to sugar-based diet. The ADHD or other problems with attention in these children are typically reported by their parents or teachers. However, as Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena (2003) point out, such studies usually have certain limitations. For example, the authors argue that it is not always possible to determine the cause and effect in the results of studies, as hyperactivity and unfocused attention can be indirectly related to sugar consumption and reflect other influences, such as boredom, the lack of parental control etc. At the same time, there is no sufficient data about the immediate effect of sugar consumption on the child’s attention, as the studies took place days after exposure to sugar-based diet (Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena 67). Lastly, the results of the discussed studies could be limited because of the laboratory environment. Thus, the authors conclude that the evidence of negative connection between sugar consumption and attention problems cannot be one hundred per cent relevant and remains ambiguous.

Discussing the relevance of results that support the hypothesis, Milich & Pelham (1986) also stress out the limitations of conducted experiments, considering them too serious for the results to be credible enough. Even though detrimental effects of sugar consumption are proven, the experiments either take place in the laboratory environment and do not reflect the real experience of children with ADHD, or the lack of data about these children’s usual interaction with peers (Milich & Pelham 714-715). The authors (1986) proposed their own study, based on a more “naturalistic” approach. The design of the study required sixteen children with ADHD to replace their breakfast either by drinks with high sugar, or by placebo drinks. After that, the children were exposed to different group activities, both in classroom and during recreation, so that the authors could observe their behaviour in different social situations. The children were able to earn points for adhering to the rules of their activities or lose them for bad behaviour (Milich & Pelham 715).

According to the results of this study, there was no significant change in the behaviour of children exposed to sugar-based diet. The cognitive abilities of the children who consumed sugar-loaded drinks were not different from those demonstrated by children in the placebo group. The authors (1986) argue that, though such conclusion would not allow them to dismiss the connection between sugar consumption and ADHD completely, they successfully addressed the limitations demonstrated by previous studies (Milich & Pelham 718). At the same time, they provide a convincing psychological explanation for children’s inability to sustain attention after having snack at school: “Because many of the foods children consume at such times are high in sugar content, it may be that the association teachers perceive between sugar ingestion and behavioral deterioration actually reflects these children’s difficulty in getting back on task following an exciting or unstructured classroom activity” (Millich & Pelham 718).

The idea expressed by Milich & Pelham (1986) is supported by recent research. The study by Kim & Chang (2011) is dedicated the quality of snacks consumed by children in elementary school in order to find the connection between attention problems and consumption of sugar or food additives. The main reason for studying this issue was the increase in sugar intake among children of school age, noticed in developed countries. The authors “did not find any evidence that ADHD development is related with consumption of sugar from snacks” (Kim & Chang 244), as there was no significant difference in the results of the study for children with and without ADHD. While the quality and quantity of snacks consumed by children was not always appropriate and healthy for their age, there was no direct link between the amount of sugar in snacks and the behaviour of children. Also, there was no correlation between the amounts of consumed sugar and the risk of ADHD. The authors (2011) report that “the first reason for consuming sugar in both the risk and normal groups was taste, whereas the second reason was hunger for the ADHD group (44.4%) and boredom for the normal group” (Kim & Chang 243). Thus, the problem with attention could be easily solved by elimination of hunger or by an interesting activity and is not related to the unhealthy addiction to sugar itself.

Lastly, Millichap & Yee (2012) study effective diets for young children diagnosed with ADHD, and their research is partially dedicated to the role of sugar in the nutrition. Though the authors (2012) point out the parental concern with sugar intake for children with ADHD, they argue that “the majority of controlled studies fail to demonstrate a significant adverse effect of sucrose or aspartame” (Millichap & Yee 333). However, similarly to studies mentioned earlier (Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena 2003, Kim & Chang 2011), hypoglycemia is named by these authors as one of the possible reasons for attention problems, as it is more damaging to cognitive abilities of children in comparison to adults. This is why hypoglycemia could possibly explain the negative link between reaction on sugar and inattentiveness (Millichap & Yee 333). Similarly to the earlier study, such viewpoint suggest that this link is indirect, and that sugar consumption itself is not detrimental for attention.

Despite the existence of these studies, it is hard to change the stereotypical attitude to sugar consumption in young children, though its effects may be purely psychological or related to medical conditions, rather than to addiction to sugar. The authors (2012) conclude that, despite the lack of actual evidence, “the link between sugar and hyperactive behavior is so universal in the opinion of parents of children with ADHD that no controlled study or physician counsel is likely to change this perception” (Millichap & Yee 334). Because of this, low-sugar diet will possibly remain popular for treatment of ADHD, even though its effectiveness and ability to eliminate the problems with attention is questionable.

Thus, we can conclude that there is no definite answer about the connection between sugar consumption and attention problems among children. Overall, there is no adequate proof of the negative impact of sugar on attention. The studies that insist on the negative influence of sugar-based diet have certain limitations that make the results ambiguous. Recent research shows that there is no significant decrease in attention of children who consume more sugar than other members of their age group. Also, numerous factors can contribute to suggested problems with attention during the experiment – such as the time during which sugar was consumed, parental discipline, presence of absence of personal allergic reactions on sugar etc. Lastly, it is suggested that abnormal tolerance to sugar intake can be a symptom of hypoglycaemia, which is often found in children with ADHD. Overall, it is indisputable that sugar consumption among young children should be limited, as its negative contribution to certain health issues was proven scientifically. However, sugar-based diet cannot be named the only reason for attention problems or ADHD and does not have significant influence on attention or other cognitive abilities of a child.

Appendix

1. Two articles used for this paper were found in Google Scholar database, and the other two – in PubMed database.

2. The search terms were “sugar and (children attention)”

3. All articles were examples of secondary sources.

References

Kim, Y.. & Chang, H. (2011). Correlation between attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and sugar consumption, quality of diet, and dietary behavior in school children. Nutrition Research and Practice, 5(3), 236–245. Retrieved 11 Jan, 2014, from PubMed database.

Milich, R. & Pelham, W. E. (1986). Effects of sugar ingestion on the classroom and playgroup behavior of attention deficit disordered boys. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology, 54 (5), 714-718. Retrieved 12 Jan, 2014, from PubMed database.

Millichap, J. G. & Yee M. M. (2012). The diet factor in attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics, 29 (2), 330-337. Retrieved 12 Jan, 2014, from Google Scholar database.

Schnoll, R., Burshteyn, D., & Cea-Aravena, J. (2003). Nutrition in the treatment of attention-deficit hyoeractivity disorder: a neglected but important aspect. Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback, 28 (1), 63-75. Retrieved 11 Jan, 2014, from Google Scholar database.