Sweet dangers: Early introduction of sugar and its impact on infant health

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When sugar is introduced to babies early, they tend to have dietary preferences. As a result, they may not reap the benefits of a wholesome meal. A wholesome meal should contain adequate proportions of carbohydrates, proteins, fat, and minerals. Babies tend to have an inherent preference for sweet taste. 

So, particularly around 6 months of age, when they are highly receptive to flavours and textures, we should introduce all flavours to help decrease sugar cravings. Even though the emphasis is on added sugar, we should not ignore hidden salt and fat content in food, which are equally harmful in multiple ways when introduced in babies early. 

Sugar is a carbohydrate, and some food items contain naturally occurring sugars. Naturally occurring sugars are found in milk as lactose and in fruits as fructose are considered healthy compared to added sugar. 

Aware of hidden sugar in processed foods!

Free sugar/hidden sugar/added sugar is added separately to a food item during preparation or processing. This can include white sugar or basically sweetening agents like syrups, added to processed foods and beverages. Parents and children should be made aware of these hidden sugars/added sugar in processed food. The rapid high and low fluctuations of sugars can make them over active and irritable.

Added or excess sugar can make children susceptible to increased appetite because of the pleasing taste. This can result in over eating of food resulting in rapid weight gain which can subsequently progress to obesity.

Baby and toddler packaged foods often have hidden sugar. Typically, fruit-focused snacks and meals have the highest amount of fruit sugar per serving. Also parents are drawn to them as they are convenient for the on-the-go parent and shelf-stable. So when babies are fed instant foods over time can develop metabolic syndrome. 

This disrupts their natural appetite and causes an imbalance in their metabolism, which can predispose them to contracting non-communicable diseases such as diabetes, elevated cholesterols, high blood pressure and heart ailments.

Due to sugar indulgence, vital nutrients in their diet will be displaced and depleted, resulting in iron, vitamin B12, and many other nutritional deficiencies, which play an important role in their growth and development.

Some children develop dental caries and also allergies due to early exposure to sugar. Others can develop bloating, abdominal cramps and diarrhea resulting in digestive distress due to imbalance in the gut bacteria. It is recommended that adults and children should reduce their daily intake of free sugars to less than 10% of their total energy intake. Hence, parents and children should be conscious of their food choices. 

-Dr. Nanditha Rathinam, Consultant - Paediatrics and Paediatrics Intensive Care, Manipal Hospital Yeshwanthpur