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Behavior |
Kanarek RB.
Does sucrose or aspartame cause hyperactivity in children? Nutr Rev. 1994 May;52(5):173-5.
Anecdotal evidence has led to the hypothesis that there is a relationship between sugar intake and hyperactive behavior. To assess this hypothesis, a recent study using a range of behavioral and cognitive measures evaluated the effects of diets high in sucrose, aspartame, and saccharin on the performance of school-aged children believed to be sensitive to sugar, and preschool children. Although intakes exceeded average dietary levels, neither sucrose nor aspartame negatively affected behavior. Taken together with previous work, these results indicate that sugar is not a major cause of hyperactivity.
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Shaywitz BA, Sullivan CM, Anderson GM, Gillespie SM, Sullivan B, Shaywitz SE.
Aspartame, behavior, and cognitive function in children with attention deficit disorder. Pediatrics. 1994 Jan;93(1):70-5.
OBJECTIVE. To determine the effects of large doses of aspartame on behavior, cognition, and monoamine metabolism in children with attention deficit disorder. DESIGN. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled crossover study of unmedicated children meeting Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (3rd ed) criteria for attention deficit disorder. SETTING. Behavioral assessments were performed in the child's home by their parents and in the classroom by a teacher. Cognitive tests were administered and blood drawing was performed during a 2-day inpatient admission to our Children's Study Center. INTERVENTIONS. Administration of aspartame (single morning dose, 34 mg/kg) or placebo for alternate 2-week periods. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES. Behavioral and cognitive tests included the Matching Familiar Figures Test (MFFT), Children's Checking Task (CCT), the Airplane Test, the Wisconsin Card Sorting Test (WCST), the Subjects Treatment Emergent Symptom Scale (STESS), the Multigrade Inventory for Teachers (MIT), and the Conners Behavior Rating Scale. Blood was drawn for complete blood cell count and liver function tests, as well as amino acid, methanol, formate, serotonin, and monoamine metabolite analyses, and urine was collected for measurement of catecholamine and monoamine metabolite excretion. RESULTS. No clinically significant differences between aspartame and placebo were found for the STESS, MIT, or Conners ratings, or for the MFFT, CCT, WCST, or Airplane cognition tests. Also, no differences were noted for any of the biochemical measures, except for the expected increase in plasma phenylalanine and tyrosine following aspartame. CONCLUSIONS. The findings indicate that aspartame at greater than 10 times usual consumption has no effect on the cognitive and behavioral status of children with attention deficit disorder. In addition, aspartame does not appear to affect urinary excretion rates of monoamines and metabolites.
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Wolraich ML, Lindgren SD, Stumbo PJ, Stegink LD, Appelbaum MI, Kiritsy MC.
Effects of diets high in sucrose or aspartame on the behavior and cognitive performance of children. N Engl J Med. 1994 Feb 3;330(5):301-7.
BACKGROUND. Both dietary sucrose and the sweetener aspartame have been reported to produce hyperactivity and other behavioral problems in children. METHODS. We conducted a double-blind controlled trial with two groups of children: 25 normal preschool children (3 to 5 years of age), and 23 school-age children (6 to 10 years) described by their parents as sensitive to sugar. The children and their families followed a different diet for each of three consecutive three-week periods. One diet was high in sucrose with no artificial sweeteners, another was low in sucrose and contained aspartame as a sweetener, and the third was low in sucrose and contained saccharin (placebo) as a sweetener. All the diets were essentially free of additives, artificial food coloring, and preservatives. The children's behavior and cognitive performance were evaluated weekly. RESULTS. The preschool children ingested a mean (+/- SD) of 5600 +/- 2100 mg of sucrose per kilogram of body weight per day while on the sucrose diet, 38 +/- 13 mg of aspartame per kilogram per day while on the aspartame diet, and 12 +/- 4.5 mg of saccharin per kilogram per day while on the saccharin diet. The school-age children considered to be sensitive to sugar ingested 4500 +/- 1200 mg of sucrose per kilogram, 32 +/- 8.9 mg of aspartame per kilogram, and 9.9 +/- 3.9 mg of saccharin per kilogram, respectively. For the children described as sugar-sensitive, there were no significant differences among the three diets in any of 39 behavioral and cognitive variables. For the preschool children, only 4 of the 31 measures differed significantly among the three diets, and there was no consistent pattern in the differences that were observed. CONCLUSIONS. Even when intake exceeds typical dietary levels, neither dietary sucrose nor aspartame affects children's behavior or cognitive function.
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Saravis S, Schachar R, Zlotkin S, Leiter LA, Anderson GH.
Aspartame: effects on learning, behavior, and mood. Pediatrics. 1990 Jul;86(1):75-83.
The effect of aspartame on the learning, behavior, and mood of children was evaluated in two experiments. After an overnight fast and a standard breakfast, 20 healthy 9- to 10-year-old children were given the treatments in a double-blind crossover design at 10:30 AM. Lunch was served at 12:00 noon. In experiment 1, the treatment consisted of an ice slurry of strawberry Kool-Aid containing 1.75 g/kg of carbohydrate (polycose) plus either aspartame (34 mg/kg) or the equivalent sweetness as sodium cyclamate and amino acids as alanine. In experiment 2, the treatment consisted of a drink of cold unsweetened strawberry Kool-Aid, containing either 1.75 g/kg of sucrose or 9.7 mg/kg of aspartame. Measures of associative learning, arithmetic calculation, activity level, social interaction, and mood were unaffected by treatment in experiment 1. In experiment 2, the only significant treatment effect was that on the frequency of minor and gross motor behaviors, which were less frequent after the consumption of sucrose than after aspartame. Thus, the effect of aspartame on the short-term behavior of healthy 9- to 10-year-old children appears to be related to its absence of metabolic consequences rather than to its amino acid composition and putative neurochemical impact.
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