By the way, while most parents believe that candy and chocolate cause hyperactivity in children, research suggests this is, surprisingly, not the case. Generally, the excitement of a holiday or special event is seen as being the contributing factor to bouncing off the walls after eating a bucket of candy.
Plus, candy makes anyone happy in my book.
I like Reese's peanut butter cups. Reese's do make me gain weight which is bad for me but good for underweight people like my elderly mother who only weighs 85lbs. I can't generalize about eating a particular food based on someone else's consequence of eating that food whether correct or incorrect. Applying other peoples perceived consequences may make me overlook the fact in the 2 seconds that it takes to eat a miniature peanut butter cup which is ok because I'm not a kid anymore and I need the energy boost, that it will make me fat.
ReplyDeleteConfirmation bias and belief persistence contribute to myths that can create opportunity lost for some members of a society. This happens all the time in food fads in popular culture. My elderly mother who needs energy and fat can eat all the Reese's she wants. And she doesn't have her teeth anymore so it's not going to ruin her teeth either. People who have a belief persistence against candy may miss the fact that candy is good in other insistences. Especially if the candy is Reese's peanut butter cups.
You know Gabi... I might be inclinded to agree with the notion that sugar does not cause hyperactivity in children. However, being the parent of a two year old and I have time and time again witnessed the effects of sugar on her. I know that correlation does not equal causation (learned that in reseach methods, can you tell?), but what I'd like to know is if science cannot "prove" that sugar induces a physical response which leads to hyperactive behavior, can they "prove" that it's the special occassion that does? I guess what I'm getting at is that there is an obvious link between sugar and a child acting hyper (as many parents can contest.) And I'm sure science has found to this date no physical link between a child's state and sugar induction. But then why do I feel a rush of energy when I eat sugar? And why wouldn't the child feel that same sensation and act accordingly to it? I'm not buying into scientific conclusions just yet, as my eyes and experience has shown me otherwise!
ReplyDeleteHi Jeffrey,
ReplyDeleteI don't think that they've actually demonstrated that the event is causing the hyperactivity, I think it's more a process of elimination. What I mean is, researchers have demonstrated that it doesn't seem to be sugar that's causing the craziness, so it must be the event. They (to my knowledge) haven't demonstrated anything like that.
But you're right. It sure SEEMS like it's the sugar.
For those peanut butter cup lovers out there - ever try the ones at Trader Joes? You'll never buy reeses again ince you do. Or perhaps you'll be like me and hide the TJ's peanut butter cups and leave the reeses out for the kids. BTW they are the perfect chairlift snack for tired and cold kids skiing.
ReplyDeleteI'm sure that the reason people assumed for so long that sugar caused hyperactivity was because of observations people made of children, especially their own, and their reactions to eating sugar. Yes, sugar is a very quick source of energy and many people feel a little rush as their blood sugar concentration increases, but you don’t often see people running around, losing their ability to concentrate, and bouncing off the walls after drinking a soda or eating a candy bar. For children, adults tend to build up situations where sugary treats are involved. We often give hype to desserts, making sure to state that something special has happened and is being celebrated, or that we’re indulging in a treat because we “deserve” it. Throw in a handful of other kids, lots of stimuli, and general chaos, and you’re bound to see some over-stimulation and other symptoms of hyperactivity. Regardless of what we interpret through our observations, no experiment has been able to prove that sugar alone causes hyperactivity in children.
ReplyDeleteI have always found that although caffeine wakes up adults and stimulates them, that it actually works the opposite on children. Its like the medication used for children with ADD or ADHAD. I had a friend who has ADHAD and he would take these pills that would make him focus, his brothers friends would steal them from him and use them as speed pills. I feel like this explains that any kind of medication is going to work differently on certain people. So why would it be incorrect to assume that children deal with caffeine or sugar differently than adults. I definitely agree that the situations in which candy is given to children is super exciting so I agree that it may not necessarily be the amount of sugar within the childs body but rather the excitement of christmas, halloween, easter etc,
ReplyDeleteOh man I love candy! It is crazy, I could really eat it all day everyday. With that said, I find it very hard to believe this to be true, sugar not creating hyperactivity. I personally experience this to not be the case. Additionally if I drink a very sugary drink such as soda I crave the sugar later and if I have drank say a soda a couple days in a row (I am not a soda drinker, very rarely) when I stop drinking it I get headaches and feel sick. Yes this can be to the caffeine, however I do believe that there is much more sugar then caffeine in soda and other sugary drinks.
ReplyDeleteI experience otherwise personally and through children.
Who put out this study?
This research raises an interesting hypothesis about causes of hyperactivity as it relates to sugar consumption. Is it the sugar or the social situation causing the hyperactivity? Maybe it's both, or another factor altogether which is contributory. It has long been known that sugar, as a simple carb, is easily broken down into energy. If you couple that with a social situation that is already primed for excitement ... energy + excitement = hyperactivity. Outside of a social situation, you still have an energy component, that either needs to be used up or is stored.
ReplyDelete