2024-01-24 10:48:00
Parents often have a myth that children are always more active following eating candy. Is there any scientific basis for this?
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There is not enough scientific evidence yet
In fact, according to a 2017 study published in the International Journal of Food Sciences and Nutrition, a total of 287 children aged 8 to 12 years old were analyzed to see whether their total daily sugar intake was related to sleep. The problems were related to behavior, but the results showed that sugar intake did not affect children’s sleep and behavior.
In addition, many studies have found that whether children are given candy or a placebo, if parents know that their children have eaten candy, they will estimate that the children are more active than usual. Therefore, the influence on children’s behavior may be the parents’ expectations of their children. Therefore, there is no scientific conclusion that eating sugar will affect children’s mood.
Artificial Colors and Hyperactivity Link
However, in addition to sugar, candies usually contain different food additives and artificial colors. Some studies have also suggested that they may be related to hyperactivity in children. Colorants such as Allura Red AC, light red, lemon yellow, sunset yellow FCF, etc. have been used in some countries. Disabled or restricted usage.
The World Health Organization recommends that children’s daily free sugar intake should not exceed 10% of daily calories, and it is better if it can be reduced to less than 5%. That is to say, compared to the average, children aged 3 to 5 years old should consume less than 35 grams of sugar; children aged 6 to 10 years old should consume less than 50 grams of sugar. It would be better if it can be reduced by half or less. Free sugars include sugars added to foods and natural sugars such as fructose in honey and fruit juices.
Healthy snack options for kids
When preparing refreshments for children, parents are advised to choose more natural foods such as wheat buns, baked potato puree, fruits, dried fruits without added sugar, nuts without added sugar, low-fat milk or low-sugar soy milk, etc. If you need to choose packaged food, try not to eat more than twice a week and choose high-fiber and low-sugar biscuits and breakfast cereals instead of cakes, cookies, candies and other snacks.
Kathy Ng – Accredited Nutritionist (Hong Kong Society of Nutritionists)
The founder of “Family Nutrition Center”, he often attends nutrition interviews in TV newspapers and writes columns. Kathy holds a bachelor’s degree in Food and Nutritional Science from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, a master’s degree in psychological counseling from the University of Hong Kong, and is a certified Mind-Linguistic Programming (NLP) instructor and hypnotherapist. She believes in “the body should be healthy and the mind should be healthy” to help urban people be happy and cultivate themselves.
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Written by: Kathy Wu Yaofen, accredited nutritionist by the Hong Kong Society of Nutritionists
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