The "sugar trick" turns against

Healthy nutrition for the baby: what parents should not do under any circumstances

Some parents encourage their children to eat a healthier diet by sprinkling some sugar on foods such as fresh strawberries or natural yoghurt. But this trick turns against her, as the researchers now report. For children who eat sweet fruit or dairy products, they may be overweight in the long term.

More and more children are too big

According to international studies, the number of obese children has increased significantly. In Germany too, more and more obese people are living. Obesity (obesity) can cause various diseases. To solve this problem, it is important to tackle the main risk factors for overweight: lack of exercise and unhealthy diet. But how can you positively influence children's eating habits? In any case, not with the so-called "sugar trick", as was shown in a study.

A childish body needs a lot of energy

In fact, evolution has done very well among us. Especially in childhood, when our body needs a lot of energy due to growth, we have a pronounced appetite or even cravings for sweets.

But what was an advantage in a primitive world of deficiency can cause problems in a prosperous society, writes the Leibniz Institute for Prevention Research and Epidemiology – BIPS in a statement.

The proportion of overweight and obese children has multiplied around the world in recent decades.

From the point of view of science, this is due not only to a lack of physical activity, but especially to the increased consumption of sweets and non-alcoholic beverages.

Provide a healthy diet

As a result, many parents are rightly trying to provide their children with a healthy, low-sugar diet.

But not all children are happy when there are only "healthy" fruits and vegetables.

Some parents sprinkle sugar on fresh fruit and natural yogurt or cocoa in milk, to give the baby a little sweetness before getting healthy.

But what is well said can have negative effects in the longer term, as shown by a recent BIPS study.

The quality of food dropped

To this end, the Italian, Swedish, Spanish, Estonian and German international research teams evaluated the data of more than 16,000 children who participated in the European IDEFICS study on childhood obesity.

A large proportion of these children were re-examined after two years as part of the BIPS study to identify changes over time.

The badysis revealed a clear picture, according to scientists.

Children who consumed more sweet fruits, smoothies and dairy products at the time of the first examination showed significantly more signs of being overweight and obese two years later than the comparison group.

In addition, the quality of their diet had dropped more frequently and more strongly – unhealthily – than that of the control group.

Refrain from sweetening fruits and dairy products

"The results show that sweetening healthy foods, even though it may be well-intentioned, tends to do the opposite," said Dr. Antje Hebestreit, head of the Department's Disease-related Disease Unit. of life at BIPS and co-author of the study.

"Our hypothesis is that here, the character of taste, which we experience especially at a young age, plays an important role," says the expert.

"Anyone who consumes sweets – even small amounts of added sugars – often has later access, later, to sugary foods, thus increasing the risk of obesity and metabolic disorders such as diabetes. diabetes, "Dr. Hebestreit.

"Our recommendation is to largely abstain from sugar, honey and instant powder to sweeten fruits and dairy products.It makes more sense to intentionally offer children a wide variety of flavors to avoid the big boredom at the table and a monotonous food selection and therefore unhealthy in the coming years. "

And: "Those who value diversity rather than sugar also provide their children with a broader range of nutrients they need for their growth and well-being." (Ad)