“sugar rush or sugar trap?” The rising concern for sugar addiction in children.

Volume 14 Issues 2 February, 2024

As far as life dates back on earth, every living organism has needs something to feed on. We humans, however, have always been peculiar creatures in this regard. As we evolved, with time our food too evolved. What was once a basic primal instinct for survival slowly turned into a gastronomic experience. If asked whether I eat to live or live to eat, I might as well find myself leaning to the latter option!

An article published by Harvard University stated that 95 percent of our total serotonin is produced in our gut endothelium. 95 percent of all happy hormones with additional endorphins.

So, all those extra fries you must’ve eaten could have indeed made you happy, mentally and physiologically!

The human tongue senses five basic types of taste namely sweet, salty, sour, bitter and umami. Out of these, for a reason yet to be fully understood, sweet is the most likely taste which can leave anyone craving more. Sugar releases opioids and dopamine in the brain, a pathway which is quite like the effects caused by addictive drugs. In fact, sugar can unknowingly be way more addictive.

In a study conducted in Yale University, it was found that salt, sugar and processed fat triggers areas of our brain which are rated to reward. Have you ever wondered why we distribute sweetmeats in celebrations or prefer desserts after a stressful day? The energy kick we get is called “sugar rush” for a reason! We reach out for something sweet even after a massive wholesome Indian thali! And that reflects on the point that we retain the capacity to have a dessert even when we feel full! You crave more and more sugar and, in a way, raise your threshold limit each time. When we associate sugar with getting over stress, controlling mood swings and anxiety, we are dangerously close to being a sugar addict ourselves. What’s even more worrisome is the fact that if adults themselves are on the verge of developing this addiction, what about the kids who are too young to barely think for themselves? In an interesting Ted talk, the speaker quoted that although a mother doesn’t expose her child to a pack of cigarettes in fear of addiction, it is unfortunately unaware that her child is already on the edge of being a bigger addict for sugar. Turns out, the consumption of all that sugar is now worse than smoking upfront!

Evert kid probably has this one core memory where they have been offered a chocolate in return for good grades, good manners or just randomly as a present. Most kids have associated this experience with happiness. Then progression happens where we end up wanting more and more of this feeling growing up.

All the excess sugar contributes to hyper activeness in kids due to the sudden surge in energy. Their bodies slowly prefer this instant energy over all those nutritive elements which need a high metabolism to digest. Often parents substitute a milk-biscuit mixture for a quick fix not knowing that with time, growing infants pick up this taste to a point where they will either eat this mixture or not eat at all. Sugar controls children. Their moods and behavior included. Even the mightiest bend to the whims of an inconsolable child who is crying his lungs out! If you think about it, this situation sounds quite like a drug addiction. This problem has developed over a long period of time which people are mostly unaware of. For instance, if you open your refrigerator and check out the label of any random packaged item or even a ketchup bottle, you’ll notice that it has insanely high amounts of sugar. That’s something which even adults don’t realize while eating our everyday meals. Sugar is used not only for flavoring but also for preserving. It’s used in almost all baby foods, biscuits, slurpies and even packaged milk! The long-term effects aren’t just obesity and acne but also serious growth restriction in infants and mood swings, irritability and sugar dependence in children. There’s not much difference left between offering chocolate or a cigarette to calm nerves in an adolescent then. Sugar addiction might be a less well-known topic, but it is emerging to be a major concern these days, especially when we are dependent on ready-to-eat or pre-cooked meals for our daily needs. While checking out sugar content on labels behind everything we eat is important, it doesn’t not solve the root cause of this issue. It starts right from the beginning. It starts when we stop offering sugar as treats to kids. Give them nuts instead. Substitute their cravings. Parents who are aware of this now try to make sure that in the first few years of their child’s lives, they don’t introduce any forms of processed sugar usually found in bakery goods and even soft drinks. At an age where children start understanding, it could help if they were given limited access to these things rather than totally restricting them. The idea is not to suppress cravings and end up having a rebound but in fact, to eliminate a need for them. I still remember when my dad explained why soft drinks are harmful when I was in 3rd grade. Then it made sense why he would never buy me any of those bottles in the superstore. What previously made me jealous of my other friends who’d got to drink them at birthday parties then, now made me avoid them on my own accord. The incident might seem insignificant back then, but it has had a major effect on my lifestyle today. I am forever grateful for that out of textbook education. Until a certain age, precautions are indeed necessary to avoid this addiction but after that, in my opinion we should go back, unlearn those habits and then relearn some healthier ones. Don’t make chocolates sound like a treat to be craved for. Instead treat them the same way you’d think about a carrot. Yes, it is possible to have them occasionally in a limited quantity too. Changing the way, we think about all those sugary treats might be the first small step, but it comes with the biggest impact. So, I hope the next time you will remember this context before you are about to offer a sugary treat to another kid!