Children misbehave after taking a sugary drink

Published in the Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology Volume 14, Number 4, 565-577, DOI: 10.1007/BF01260524
 
Behavioral effects of sucrose on preschool children
Jane A. Goldman, Robert H. Lerman, John H. Contois and John N. Udall

This paper can be accessed at: http://www.springerlink.com/content/h67k3h6652320t18/

Children were tested to see the effects of sugar consumption. On separate mornings each child received 6 ounces of juice, with sugar on one morning and without on the other.

Children were observed for 90 minutes following the drinks, alternating between 15-minute sessions of work on structured tasks and 15-minute sessions of free play. Following the sucrose drink the children showed a decrement in performance in the structured testing situation, and they demonstrated more "inappropriate" behavior during free play. These differences in behavior were most pronounced approximately 45 to 60 minutes after the drinks.

Thus, the study provides objective evidence in young children of a rather subtle, yet significant, time-dependent behavior effect of sucrose ingestion.

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