According to an article in the Swedish Magazine Hälsa & Vetenskap (Health and science), scientists can’t find a connection between sugar and hyperactive behavior in children.
The first time the connection between sugar and hyperactivity was brought up was in 1922, they said then there was a connection. Hans Forsberg who is a professor and manager at the Brain Institute in Stockholm says that scientist have reviewed 23 studies, but not found a relation. An experiment was done with 35 boys from 5 to 7 years old, whose parents said they [their kids] became hyperactive after eating food with much sugar in it. The children were divided into two groups, both groups were given placebo “food”, but the parents were given different messages. One groups of parents got to know that their children were given placebo, and the other group was told that their children were given food consisting much sugar.
What they found was that the children whose parents were told they were given food high in sugar were far more “active” than the other ones. Through this scientists draw the conclusion that it’s not sugar that makes kids hyperactive – it’s their parents expectations! Parents believe that their children will become more active after eating sugar and their behaviour makes the children act that way. Children also often eat food high in sugar on occasions like birthdays, Christmas, or during the weekends – times where the kids likely have more fun, and their happiness makes them more active.
(Scientists can’t say they are 100% right, because how parents perceive their children differently, and it’s wrong to say that what they [the parents] see/experience is not right.)
