How Sugar May Affect Kids Differently Than Adults

Jennifer O'Neill
·Writer
Updated

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That Big Gulp soda may be as bad for teen’s brains as for their bodies, a new study finds. Consuming a diet high in fructose throughout adolescence can worsen depression and anxiety and change the way the brain processes stress in adulthood, according to the research, out of Emory University’s School of Medicine. “Childhood and adolescence is such a critical period for brain development,” Constance Harrell, lead author of the study, presented Nov. 15 at the annual meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, tells Yahoo Parenting. “Parents need to realize that there is a long-term consequence for consuming a very high-sugar diet.”

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In the study, researchers gave adolescent and adult rats either a standard “control” diet or a diet high in fructose, the simple sugar which stimulates neural pathways that effect how the brain responds to stress. After 10 weeks, researchers discovered that the adolescent rats who consumed lots of fructose were essentially depressed — while the adult rats weren’t.

“The rats fed a high fructose diet beginning in adulthood didn’t show the same changes in stress hormones or behavior,” explains Harrell.  As a result, they suspect that an ultra-sugary diet during humans’ teen years “might lead to this remodeling of stress behavior later in life.”

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The good news is you’d need to down a lot of fructose — the sugar in fruits and vegetables that’s also added to many processed foods and drinks — each day to get into trouble. “You’d need 55 percent of your calories to come from fructose,” explains fellow researcher Dr. Gretchen Neigh, who stresses that eating natural foods alone wouldn’t get you there. It’s the processed and junk meals plus sodas that have a real impact.

“We’re not saying no child should ever have fructose,” Neigh explains. “But stress response is developing during puberty, so that’s the window in which you’re more sensitive to diet manipulations. Just be cognizant of how much teens are consuming because it can have a negative effect on the brain.” Food for thought.