Your Childs’ Brain On Sugar

Does it Impact Behaviour? YES!

Sugar is everywhere. In today’s society, portion sizes are increasing, processed foods are becoming the norm, and as a result, we are eating more sugar than ever before. Not only this, but it is the child and adolescent age groups who are consuming the most sugar [2]. As mentioned in the last blog, there is an association between high sugar intake and an increased risk of obesity, type 2 diabetes and dental cavities. With new research, we are also starting to see the impact that sugar can have on your child’s brain health. 

So, how is the brain affected?

There are both short- and long-term effects. What you are probably familiar with is the common ‘sugar high’ characterized by a spike and then fall in your child’s energy after eating sugary foods. But did you know there are potential long-term effects of sugar on your child’s brain health?

Let’s break down the brain…

The Prefrontal Cortex (PFC): is an important regulator of higher order cognitive functions which include attention, behavioural control and self-regulation [1]. This part of the brain is developing until the early 20’s, so higher-order cognitive functions don’t form until later in life. Because a child's brain is constantly under development, it is particularly susceptible to the effects of sugar [2]. Prolonged and daily consumption of high sugar (and high fat) foods has been linked to a loss of neurons (cells that make up the brain) in the prefrontal cortex, and may negatively impact the formation of the cognitive processes mentioned above [2].  An immature prefrontal cortex can decrease self-regulation during this life stage [2] and may be a reason your child is experiencing behaviour issues. 

The Hippocampus: is the area of the brain involved with learning and long-term memory processes [2]. Neurogenesis, which is the formation of new neurons, is an important part of the formation of memory and learning. Research has shown high sugar intake to reduce this process and potentially impact performance on tasks such as the ability to learn [2,4]. There is also a correlation between sugar and lower performance on nonverbal intelligence tests [5].

Is sugar addictive?

Next, let’s talk about the brain’s reward system. Dopamine is a neurotransmitter (think of this as a messenger in the brain) important for movement, motivation and addiction [3]. When you eat a highly pleasurable food (such as a sugary snack) dopamine is released. Eating high amounts of these sorts of food can trigger this reward system to a high degree and push someone to eat more food than they would need to meet their energy requirements [5]. This overconsumption of food can start in childhood and could continue into adulthood with continually high sugar diets [2]. Research is also showing that sugar can be characterized as an addictive substance and may even have addictive properties including withdrawal or continued cravings when sugar is deprived [5]. 

What can YOU do about it? 

Since sugar is so common, it is easy for your child to be getting too much. Check out the previous blog to see common sources and guidelines for sugar. If you are struggling to cut down on your child’s sugar intake, here are some tips you can try incorporating:

1.     Try limiting fruit juice.

Juice has an unnaturally high amount of sugar. During processing many of the nutritional properties of fruit such as fibre, and vitamins are stripped. Instead, aim to make water the drink of choice.

2.     Get creative when baking! Try to sweeten foods with natural sweeteners like dates or bananas. Recipes often call for a lot of sugar so reducing this amount can help too. 

3.     Watch for food marketing. Companies love to market their foods as the healthier option, but can actually be loaded with 50+ grams of sugar (take many smoothie companies for example!)

4.     Lastly, start your child’s day off right. Many common breakfast foods such as cereal or Pop tarts contain tons of added sugars causing your child’s energy to spike then fall again before they even get to lunch. Switching the first meal of the day to include more complex carbohydrates and fibre (ex. overnight oats, eggs, peanut butter and whole grain toast) can make the world of a difference. 

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Blog Contributor

Kendall Saravanamuttoo

WESTERN UNIVERSITY STUDENT

HONOURS SPECIALIZATION IN HEALTH SCIENCES 

References 

1. Reichelt, A., Gibson, G., Abbott, K., Hare, D. (2019). A high-fat high-sugar diet in adolescent rats impairs social memory and alters chemical markers characteristic of atypical neuroplasticity and parvalbumin interneuron depletion in the medial prefrontal cortex. Food & Function, (4).

2. Reichelt, A. (2016). Adolescent maturational transitions in the prefrontal cortex and dopamine signaling as a risk factor for the development of obesity and high fat/high sugar diet induced cognitive deficits. Front. Behav. Neurosci,

3. Neuroscientifically Challenged. (2015, January 16). Know your brain: reward system.

4. The University of Queensland. (2017, May 18). What is neurogenesis?.

5. Freeman, C. R., Zehra, A., Ramirez, V., Wiers, C. E., Volkow, N. D., & Wang, G. J. (2018). Impact of sugar on the body, brain, and behavior. Frontiers in bioscience (Landmark edition), 23, 2255–2266.