3 Important Reasons To Reduce Your Child’s Sugar Intake

**Collaborative post**

Kids and sugar are like two magnets drawn to one another. Nobody really knows why this is the case, but young children love anything sweet and sugary. As you grow older, your sweet tooth subsides a little bit and you tend to understand that too many sweets are a bad thing! However, your kids will try everything in their power to get as many sugary goodies from you as they possibly can. 

Needless to say, you need to reduce your child’s sugar intake. Lots of different reasons can be used to explain why, but we can narrow things down to three big ones. Think of this post as a little bit of a wake-up call. You know sugar is bad, but have you ever stopped to consider how bad it really is? Here are three important reasons your kids need to eat less sugar: 

#1 Sugar increases the risk of dental health problems

This is probably the most well-known risk of a high-sugar diet. When your children are constantly eating sweets or drinking sugary drinks, it heightens the chances of developing long-term dental problems. Apparently, research states that nearly a third of five-year-olds in the UK have tooth decay. Moreover, dental health problems are the number one reason for hospitalisations in young children across the country. 

It’s a major problem, which leads to more issues when they get older. If your kids get really bad tooth decay, their baby teeth can be pulled out. If the problem persists, they may end up with adult teeth that can’t be fixed and must be extracted. These won’t grow back again! You could have a child of 10 or 12 years old with missing teeth. And then what? You can find dental implants to replace them or they’ll have to wear false teeth. A lack of teeth then leads to gum problems which can cause more teeth to fall out. 

You see, it’s a domino effect of poor oral health! You need to cut down on sugary foods/drinks to protect your child’s mouth and teeth. Also, it protects your bank balance; dental trips are costly, even on the NHS!

#2 Sugar can lead to excessive weight gain

Did you know that sugar can lead to excessive weight gain, especially in young children? This is because sugar tends to contain a lot of calories, without really being too filling. For example, your child can eat a chocolate bar that’s 100 calories and be completely unfulfilled. So, they keep on eating and snacking – this is why it’s so easy for kids to blast their way through entire bags of Haribo or other sweets. Before you know it, they’ve eaten way too many calories. 

As a consequence, your child consumes more calories than they burn every day. Therefore, they start gaining weight. A little bit of extra weight isn’t a bad thing, but it becomes an issue when it keeps getting piled on. 10% of reception-age children are obese in the UK, and a further 12% are overweight, according to government statistics. That’s really worrying stuff as being overweight leads to loads of health complications. 

Your child will be at an increased risk of developing things like heart disease or diabetes. It sets them up for a lifetime of chronic health conditions. Cutting down their sugar content will decrease their daily calories – particularly if you replace sugary foods with healthier ones high in fibre and protein to keep them fuller for longer. Thus, they maintain a healthy weight and can avoid some health problems. 

#3 Sugar can mess with your child’s energy levels

Sugar is a source of energy – which is why it’s high in calories. If you give your kids lots of sugar, they’re going to naturally have a lot of energy. Unfortunately, the sugar we find in sweets and drinks is not a good source of sustainable energy. What tends to happen is your kids get a jolt of energy for a couple of hours before having a comedown. 

As a result, they go from really active and energetic to super lethargic. If your kids eat really sugary cereals, you may notice this by lunchtime. They start the day all happy and full of beans, but by lunch, they’re dozy and struggle to concentrate. Their teachers might make a similar comment on parents’ evenings at school. 

Reducing sugar intake can manage a child’s energy levels a lot better. In turn, this can improve their concentration and help them do better at school. 

Clearly, you need to watch what you’re feeding your kids. Don’t give them too many sugary treats every day. Try to avoid sugary drinks as well – like juices and fizzy drinks. You don’t have to completely eliminate sugar from their diet; just work on reducing it.