The Connection between Sugar Consumption and Attention in Young Children Ibrahim Alkhaldi California State University Northridge CD 361, Summer 2014 THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SUGAR CONSUMPTION AND ATTENTION IN YOUNG CHILDREN 1 The connection between sugar consumption and attention in young children The importance of proper nutrition, especially for young children, is widely discussed nowadays. While various data is available on the prevention of obesity and other unwanted physiological conditions, scientists also pay attention to the connection between the diet and cognitive abilities. In particular, some scholars discuss the hypothesis about negative influence of sugar consumption on the ability of the young children to sustain attention and link between sugar and the risk of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Millich & Pelham (1986) point out that this opinion is shared by parents and teachers as well, which leads to the popularity of low sugar diet for children diagnosed with ADHD. Recent research also draws attention to this issue, trying to identify the connection between ADHD and sugar consumption with the help of various experiments. Let us discuss some examples of such studies in order to find out whether their results support or disprove the hypothesis. Problems with attention, as well as attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder, can be triggered by various factors. Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena (2003) discuss the connection between ADHD and nutrition, arguing that certain types of diet and food additives can positively influence patients with ADHD, helping to eliminate its symptoms. At the same time, it is suggested that sugar consumption is detrimental for children’s attention, and that “younger children might be more susceptible to the adverse effects of sugar” (Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena 67). The negative influence of sugar consumption on cognitive abilities and attention can be explained as follows. As the authors (2003) point out, abnormal glucose tolerance, seen in many children at present, can be a symptom of hypoglycaemia, a medical condition “associated with an increased production of epinephrine, which in turn can stimulate a nervous or restless reaction” (Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena 66). Such reactions are often interpreted as symptoms of ADHD. Thus, the connection between high sugar intake and inattentiveness may be indirect and caused by hypoglycaemia, rather than by sugar itself. Studies of sugar consumption and its effects usually compare responses of children with average attention and children with high ADHD risk or already diagnosed with ADHD, when exposed to sugar-based diet. The ADHD or other problems with attention in these children are typically reported by their parents or teachers. However, as Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena (2003) point out, such studies usually have certain limitations. For example, the authors argue that it is not always possible to determine the cause an ...

1. The Connection between Sugar Consumption and Attention in
Young Children
Ibrahim Alkhaldi
California State University Northridge
CD 361, Summer 2014
THE CONNECTION BETWEEN SUGAR CONSUMPTION
AND ATTENTION IN YOUNG CHILDREN 1
The connection between sugar consumption and attention in
young children
The importance of proper nutrition, especially for young
children, is widely discussed nowadays. While various data is
available on the prevention of obesity and other unwanted
physiological conditions, scientists also pay attention to the
connection between the diet and cognitive abilities. In
particular, some scholars discuss the hypothesis about negative
influence of sugar consumption on the ability of the young
children to sustain attention and link between sugar and the risk

2. of attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. Millich & Pelham
(1986) point out that this opinion is shared by parents and
teachers as well, which leads to the popularity of low sugar diet
for children diagnosed with ADHD. Recent research also draws
attention to this issue, trying to identify the connection between
ADHD and sugar consumption with the help of various
experiments. Let us discuss some examples of such studies in
order to find out whether their results support or disprove the
hypothesis.
Problems with attention, as well as attention-deficit
hyperactivity disorder, can be triggered by various factors.
Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena (2003) discuss the
connection between ADHD and nutrition, arguing that certain
types of diet and food additives can positively influence
patients with ADHD, helping to eliminate its symptoms. At the
same time, it is suggested that sugar consumption is detrimental
for children’s attention, and that “younger children might be
more susceptible to the adverse effects of sugar” (Schnoll,
Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena 67). The negative influence of sugar
consumption on cognitive abilities and attention can be
explained as follows. As the authors (2003) point out, abnormal
glucose tolerance, seen in many children at present, can be a
symptom of hypoglycaemia, a medical condition “associated
with an increased production of epinephrine, which in turn can
stimulate a nervous or restless reaction” (Schnoll, Burshteyn &
Cea-Aravena 66). Such reactions are often interpreted as
symptoms of ADHD. Thus, the connection between high sugar
intake and inattentiveness may be indirect and caused by
hypoglycaemia, rather than by sugar itself.
Studies of sugar consumption and its effects usually
compare responses of children with average attention and
children with high ADHD risk or already diagnosed with
ADHD, when exposed to sugar-based diet. The ADHD or other
problems with attention in these children are typically reported
by their parents or teachers. However, as Schnoll, Burshteyn &
Cea-Aravena (2003) point out, such studies usually have certain

3. limitations. For example, the authors argue that it is not always
possible to determine the cause and effect in the results of
studies, as hyperactivity and unfocused attention can be
indirectly related to sugar consumption and reflect other
influences, such as boredom, the lack of parental control etc. At
the same time, there is no sufficient data about the immediate
effect of sugar consumption on the child’s attention, as the
studies took place days after exposure to sugar-based diet
(Schnoll, Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena 67). Lastly, the results of
the discussed studies could be limited because of the laboratory
environment. Thus, the authors conclude that the evidence of
negative connection between sugar consumption and attention
problems cannot be one hundred per cent relevant and remains
ambiguous.
Discussing the relevance of results that support the
hypothesis, Milich & Pelham (1986) also stress out the
limitations of conducted experiments, considering them too
serious for the results to be credible enough. Even though
detrimental effects of sugar consumption are proven, the
experiments either take place in the laboratory environment and
do not reflect the real experience of children with ADHD, or the
lack of data about these children’s usual interaction with peers
(Milich & Pelham 714-715). The authors (1986) proposed their
own study, based on a more “naturalistic” approach. The design
of the study required sixteen children with ADHD to replace
their breakfast either by drinks with high sugar, or by placebo
drinks. After that, the children were exposed to different group
activities, both in classroom and during recreation, so that the
authors could observe their behaviour in different social
situations. The children were able to earn points for adhering to
the rules of their activities or lose them for bad behaviour
(Milich & Pelham 715).
According to the results of this study, there was no
significant change in the behaviour of children exposed to
sugar-based diet. The cognitive abilities of the children who
consumed sugar-loaded drinks were not different from those

4. demonstrated by children in the placebo group. The authors
(1986) argue that, though such conclusion would not allow them
to dismiss the connection between sugar consumption and
ADHD completely, they successfully addressed the limitations
demonstrated by previous studies (Milich & Pelham 718). At the
same time, they provide a convincing psychological explanation
for children’s inability to sustain attention after having snack at
school: “Because many of the foods children consume at such
times are high in sugar content, it may be that the association
teachers perceive between sugar ingestion and behavioral
deterioration actually reflects these children’s difficulty in
getting back on task following an exciting or unstructured
classroom activity” (Millich & Pelham 718).
The idea expressed by Milich & Pelham (1986) is
supported by recent research. The study by Kim & Chang
(2011) is dedicated the quality of snacks consumed by children
in elementary school in order to find the connection between
attention problems and consumption of sugar or food additives.
The main reason for studying this issue was the increase in
sugar intake among children of school age, noticed in developed
countries. The authors “did not find any evidence that ADHD
development is related with consumption of sugar from snacks”
(Kim & Chang 244), as there was no significant difference in
the results of the study for children with and without ADHD.
While the quality and quantity of snacks consumed by children
was not always appropriate and healthy for their age, there was
no direct link between the amount of sugar in snacks and the
behaviour of children. Also, there was no correlation between
the amounts of consumed sugar and the risk of ADHD. The
authors (2011) report that “the first reason for consuming sugar
in both the risk and normal groups was taste, whereas the
second reason was hunger for the ADHD group (44.4%) and
boredom for the normal group” (Kim & Chang 243). Thus, the
problem with attention could be easily solved by elimination of
hunger or by an interesting activity and is not related to the
unhealthy addiction to sugar itself.

5. Lastly, Millichap & Yee (2012) study effective diets for young
children diagnosed with ADHD, and their research is partially
dedicated to the role of sugar in the nutrition. Though the
authors (2012) point out the parental concern with sugar intake
for children with ADHD, they argue that “the majority of
controlled studies fail to demonstrate a significant adverse
effect of sucrose or aspartame” (Millichap & Yee 333).
However, similarly to studies mentioned earlier (Schnoll,
Burshteyn & Cea-Aravena 2003, Kim & Chang 2011),
hypoglycemia is named by these authors as one of the possible
reasons for attention problems, as it is more damaging to
cognitive abilities of children in comparison to adults. This is
why hypoglycemia could possibly explain the negative link
between reaction on sugar and inattentiveness (Millichap & Yee
333). Similarly to the earlier study, such viewpoint suggest that
this link is indirect, and that sugar consumption itself is not
detrimental for attention.
Despite the existence of these studies, it is hard to change
the stereotypical attitude to sugar consumption in young
children, though its effects may be purely psychological or
related to medical conditions, rather than to addiction to sugar.
The authors (2012) conclude that, despite the lack of actual
evidence, “the link between sugar and hyperactive behavior is
so universal in the opinion of parents of children with ADHD
that no controlled study or physician counsel is likely to change
this perception” (Millichap & Yee 334). Because of this, low-
sugar diet will possibly remain popular for treatment of ADHD,
even though its effectiveness and ability to eliminate the
problems with attention is questionable.
Thus, we can conclude that there is no definite answer
about the connection between sugar consumption and attention
problems among children. Overall, there is no adequate proof of
the negative impact of sugar on attention. The studies that insist
on the negative influence of sugar-based diet have certain
limitations that make the results ambiguous. Recent research
shows that there is no significant decrease in attention of

6. children who consume more sugar than other members of their
age group. Also, numerous factors can contribute to suggested
problems with attention during the experiment – such as the
time during which sugar was consumed, parental discipline,
presence of absence of personal allergic reactions on sugar etc.
Lastly, it is suggested that abnormal tolerance to sugar intake
can be a symptom of hypoglycaemia, which is often found in
children with ADHD. Overall, it is indisputable that sugar
consumption among young children should be limited, as its
negative contribution to certain health issues was proven
scientifically. However, sugar-based diet cannot be named the
only reason for attention problems or ADHD and does not have
significant influence on attention or other cognitive abilities of
a child.
Appendix
1. Two articles used for this paper were found in Google
Scholar database, and the other two – in PubMed database.
2. The search terms were “sugar and (children attention)”

7. 3. All articles were examples of secondary sources.
References
Kim, Y.. & Chang, H. (2011). Correlation between attention
deficit hyperactivity disorder and sugar consumption, quality of
diet, and dietary behavior in school children. Nutrition Research
and Practice, 5(3), 236–245. Retrieved 11 Jan, 2014, from
PubMed database.
Milich, R. & Pelham, W. E. (1986). Effects of sugar ingestion
on the classroom and playgroup behavior of attention deficit
disordered boys. Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology,
54 (5), 714-718. Retrieved 12 Jan, 2014, from PubMed
database.
Millichap, J. G. & Yee M. M. (2012). The diet factor in
attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder. Pediatrics, 29 (2), 330-
337. Retrieved 12 Jan, 2014, from Google Scholar database.
Schnoll, R., Burshteyn, D., & Cea-Aravena, J. (2003). Nutrition
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