Sugar Cravings – Nature or Nurture?

Is it possible to have a sweet tooth before you even have teeth? An NPR report is saying babies are “hardwired from day one” to crave sugar.

Many say sugar cravings are the result of lifestyle, but this report could change all that. It says that the craving for sugar (which, as we all know, kids seem to have more than adults) is strongest in children, and may be tied to rapid growth. This could be why it tends to die out – or, at least, calm down – by the adolescent years.

According to researcher Julie Mennella of the Monell Chemical Senses Center, newborns can actually detect sweetness, and will show a preference for it. She herself believes children are living in “different sensory worlds” when it comes to taste.

"They prefer much more intense sweetness and saltiness than the adult, and it doesn't decrease until late adolescence. And we have some evidence they may be more sensitive to bitter taste," she explained.

During the research for this study, children and adults were both given sugar solutions. While the adults preferred the solution with a concentration that was similar to soda, children favoured the solution that was over twice as sweet.

"You can keep putting sugar in to the point where you can't dissolve it in the water anymore and they still like it," Sue Coldwell, a researcher at the University of Washington, noted.

Believe it or not, sugar is also known to be a pain reliever for kids, and is used in hospitals during surgery to help them manage the pain.

The research is still continuing on why this sugar preference exists and why it tends to peter out the older we get, but for now, we at SureBaby want to know –do you have a little sugar monster on your hands, and if so, how do you regulate your child’s sugar intake?