EFFECTS OF DIETS HIGH IN SUCROSE OR ASPARTAME ON THE BEHAVIOR AND COGNITIVE PERFORMANCE OF CHILDREN

Background. Both dietary sucrose and the sweetener aspartame have been reported to produce hyperactivity and other behavioral problems in ch ildren. 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 paren ts as sensitive to sugar. The children and their families followed a d ifferent diet for each of three consecutive three-week periods. One di et was high in sucrose with no artificial sweeteners, another was low in sucrose and contained aspartame as a sweetener, and the third was l ow in sucrose and contained saccharin (placebo) as a sweetener. All th e diets were essentially free of additives, artificial food coloring, and preservatives. The children's behavior and cognitive performance w ere evaluated weekly. Results. The preschool children ingested a mean (+/-SD) of 5600+/-2100 mg of sucrose per kilogram of body weight per d ay 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 kil ogram per day while on the saccharin diet. The school-age children con sidered to be sensitive to sugar ingested 4500+/-1200 mg of sucrose pe r 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 s ugar-sensitive, there were no significant differences among the three diets in any of 39 behavioral and cognitive variables. For the prescho ol children, only 4 of the 31 measures differed significantly among th e three diets, and there was no consistent pattern in the differences that were observed. Conclusions. Even when intake exceeds typical diet ary levels, neither dietary sucrose nor aspartame affects children's b ehavior or cognitive function.