Because of a popular belief that connects sugar and hyperactivity, many parents worry that giving their children chocolate will negatively influence their behavior. In particular, parents whose children have attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) worry that chocolate could worsen their children’s symptoms. However, most recent research contradicts these myths, according to the journal Food Science and Nutrition. For most children, chocolate does not enhance hyperactivity.
Research
Food Science and Nutrition evaluated 12 scientific studies and concluded that chocolate does not cause hyperactive behavior in children. The examined studies tested all the components of chocolate that could influence children’s behavior, including sugar, additives, caffeine and cocoa, and they found no behavioral effects. The federal Food and Drug Administration and the National Institute of Mental Health similarly conclude that the sugar in chocolate does not cause or aggravate hyperactivity.
History
The belief that sugar in chocolate makes children hyper began in the 1970s, the FDA says, but most studies on the topic were unreliable because of their ineffective designs. One influential study formulated the Feingold diet, which eliminated any foods that might exacerbate hyperactivity, explains Food Science and Nutrition. Although this diet gained popularity, more recent research has proven that eating chocolate does not cause any negative behaviors in children, the journal concludes, and avoiding chocolate does not stifle negative behaviors. The FDA similarly notes that strict diets are difficult to enforce, minimally effective and unadvisable.
Ingredients
The ingredients in chocolate have been popularly, but not definitively, connected to hyperactivity. Food additives have been targeted, but the FDA has concluded that avoiding foods with additives doesn’t effectively minimize hyperactivity. Large amounts of caffeine can cause stimulated behaviors, but chocolate contains only a small amount of caffeine, ARYA Journal notes. The most significant public trend blames sugar for chocolate’s supposed hyperactive effects, but the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) rejects this theory.
Misconceptions
Some parents argue that they have witnessed the hyperactive effects of sugar on their children, but the NIMH counters that the parents’ perceptions are largely psychosomatic; they note hyperactive behavior because they expect it. According to research, the NIMH describes, children actually behave the same whether they consume average amounts of sugar, large amounts of sugar or a sugar substitute.
Parents magazine website says children often demonstrate high energy in situations in which they eat sugar, such as birthday parties, but that the link is environmental rather than causal. Other elements of the situation--such as the celebratory atmosphere and the other young children--are the actual stimulant in such cases.
Allergies
Chocolate can provoke hyperactive behaviors in children who have allergies or sensitivities to chocolate’s ingredients; hence, avoiding chocolate can help eliminate those behaviors, concludes a study published in the journal Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback. For children who lack such allergies or sensitivities--even those officially diagnosed with ADHD--sugar and additives do not provoke or exacerbate hyperactive behavior, according to the NIMH and the FDA.
References
- Food Science and Nutrition; "Hyperactivity: Is candy causal?"; Krummel et al.; 1996
- Food and Drug Administration: Food Ingredients and Colors
- National Institute of Mental Health: Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD)
- Parents: Baby Feeding Myths Every Parent Should Know
- Applied Psychophysiology and Biofeedback; "Nutrition in the Treatment..."; Schnoll et al; 2004
