Food Pharmacy, Food Pharmacy, Research
Published:
February 9, 2017
February 9, 2017
We can’t handle another story about the effects of sugar on a child’s body, can you?
Mia looks up from the computer and turns towards Lina.
– I don’t get it.
– What?
– According to a study made by Novus, that has examined weight and eating habits among children and young adults from 2003 to 2016, one in three parents in Sweden (31%) is concerned about their children’s sugar intake.
– Yes…?
– Yes, and at the same time we keep letting them have sugary foods, in fact more than ever. The Swedish National Food Administration recommends that added (white, processed) sugar should not make up more than 10 percent of your total calorie intake for the day, equivalent to 18 kilograms of sugar per person per year. The truth is, we eat a lot more than twice as much – 48 kilograms of sugar per person per year.
– Yes, that’s definitely odd.
Mia looks down at her computer again.
– Maybe people are tired of all the warnings and negative reports.
Lina takes a sip of her Matcha tea.
– Then they should see “Mitt sockersöta barn” (“My sugary sweet child”). A Swedish documentary that approaches this issue differently, and leaves no one unaffected.
– Oh, I’ve read about it. Is it good?
– Awesome! They make a grown man, Thomas Skoglund, eat and live like a five year old for a week and they’ve fit the proportions so that they match an adult’s size. When a five year old gets an ice cream, the adult gets 2.5 ice creams, and so on.
-Oh, that’s clever.
– Yes, and when you see the huge amount of ice cream and candy that’s needed in order for the man to meet the same proportional intake, it’s so very clear what bizarre amount of sugar we give to our children.
– Oh, I love that.
– In the documentary, Thomas Skoglund tells us about the quick rush of energy you get from sugar, and the equally quick lows you experience afterwards. He tells us about the blood sugar rollercoaster and the heavy mood swings, and how he lost all his energy and joy of living due to this sugary diet.
Lina takes another sip.
– In the morning, he had a way too sugary breakfast, juice and cereal, and then some soup and yoghurt at kindergarten. In the grocery store, he got some banana and a sweet smoothie, which raised the energy levels a lot. But when it was time for dinner he barely managed to eat.
– Well, makes sense… We put such high expectations on our kids, but we don’t offer them the right conditions. It’s a wonder they cope at all. Can we link to the documentary here on our blog?
– Absolutely! Here you go: http://mittsockersotabarn.story.aftonbladet.se . But unfortunately, it’s in Swedish.
– Oh.
