There is a commonly held belief that eating sugar leads to an
alteration in behavior in the form of a ?sugar high?. There are
studies that aim to disprove this common belief.  Is human behavior in
the form of elevated activity etc affected by sugar consumption?  Can
you provide a reputable scientific study that addresses the connection
between sugar-consumption and human behavior?

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Request for Question Clarification by kriswrite-ga on 02 Aug 2006 17:00 PDT

Are you ONLY looking for studies that show sugar causes changes in
behavior? Or will you accept studies that show the opposite?

Kriswrite

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Clarification of Question by betabuckortwo-ga on 03 Aug 2006 12:17 PDT

I am primarily looking to learn if sugar consumption effects human behavior.

Hello betabuckortwo~

Thanks for the interesting question! 

Current studies show no link between sugar consumption and a change in
behavior. Mostly, this has been studied in children. Check out the
following sample of scientific studies:

* "It is unlikely that sugar and aspartame are clinically significant
causes of disruptive behavior." (American Journal of Psychiatry:
"Effects of sugar and aspartame on aggression and activity in
children:" http://ajp.psychiatryonline.org/cgi/content/abstract/144/11/1487

* "All children actually received the placebo (aspartame). Mothers and
sons were videotaped while interacting together and each mother was
then questioned about the interaction. Mothers in the sugar expectancy
condition rated their children as significantly more
Childhyperactive..." (Journal of Abnormal Child Psychology, "Effects f
sugar ingestion expectancies on mother-child interactions:"
http://www.springerlink.com/(jnslauf0lgy14xnxb1nqdsu4)/app/home/contribution.asp?referrer=parent&backto=issue,7,7;journal,73,172;linkingpublicationresults,1:104756,1
)

* "Twenty years ago, the common perception was that sugar intake was
associated with several chronic diseases: Diabetes, coronary heart
disease, obesity, and hyperactivity in children...The evidence
indicates that sugar is not in itself associated with the
aforementioned chronic diseases ..." (Center for Nutritional Policy
and Promotion," Current Knowledge of the Health Effects of Sugar
Intake," http://www.sugar.org/media/pdfs/mardis.pdf )

* "Results offer no support for the contention that sugar ingestion
adversely affects the behavior or learning of ADD boys. Limitations of
the present study, including the dosage of sugar employed and the use
of concurrent interventions, are discussed. It is suggested that
beliefs that sugar has a challenge effect on behavior in ADD children
may actually reflect their difficulty readjusting to classroom
activity after a snack period." (Journal of Consulting Psychology:
http://content.apa.org/journals/ccp/54/5/714 )


Kind regards,
Kriswrite

RESEARCH STRATEGY:
Google Scholar: sugar hyper, sugar behavior