My food shop generally consists of evening meals, a couple of boxes of cereal and anything else necessary to keep me alive. One thing I love are sweets—a lot of sweets.
My food shop generally consists of evening meals, a couple of boxes of cereal and anything else necessary to keep me alive. One thing I love are sweets—a lot of sweets.
I’ve always had a sweet tooth and with my sugar intake far above the recommended daily allowance – I feel a sense of accomplishment for acquiring only one filling during my 21 years on this planet.
A new study suggests a sweet tooth could have evolved as a way to help kids survive by leading them to more calories during growth spurts. Monell Chemical Senses Centre in the US city of Philadelphia carried out the research and concluded that children who enjoyed sugary foods tended to be taller for their age.
A different world
However are we really hardwired to raid the sweet cupboard from a young age? Or are children just taught bad habits?
Personally, I was smothered by my grandmother from a young age with Flumps, Haribo and Fun Gums—anything I could have ever wanted sugar-wise, she always had. To this day, I have a cheesecake in the fridge and a large (empty) cup of Pick ‘n’ Mix from Tesco on my desk while I type.
So is my grandmother to blame for my overindulgence? Most probably, but I’m not one to assign blame when I’m the one walking to the fridge to cut myself a slice of cheesecake.
According to Manella, one of the researchers who conducted the study, children live in a totally different sensory world to adults. So basically, their cravings are completely different to ours and for completely different reasons.
So it’s not the parents’ fault? If I had a child sat beside me right now, with my empty box of Pick ’n’ Mix and half-eaten cheesecake, is this study suggesting the child would not be influenced by an adult making such a sugary mistake? I doubt the findings, especially when as a race we’ve universally concluded children are incredibly impressionable.
Different study
Apparently the mothers of the children studied also took part, however it’s not exactly said how. I think it would be interesting to understand their intake and how often they eat sugary snacks in front of their children, which could then be correlated against their child’s intake. This would obviously mean a longitudinal study would have to be considered in order for the study to have validity as well as reliable results.
Children will always reach for a pack of strawberry laces as opposed to a bag of lettuce. Not only are children apparently hardwired to increase their calorie intake through genetics, they’re also victims of constant advertising – very good advertising.
Then again, we cannot forget that it’s not only children who fall victim to advertising, their parents do too. That being said, children aren’t magically acquiring sugary snacks. Whatever cupboard they’re raiding, I’m sure mum and dad are the ones that pay for the contents!
What do you think of this study? Have your say in the comments section below.
