Children Consuming Too Much Artificial Sweeteners Risk Poor Growth’ By Angela Onwuzoo

A Registered Dietician-Nutritionist at the Alex Ekwueme Federal University Teaching Hospital, Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nwabumma Asouzu, says feeding children with foods and drinks laden with artificial sweeteners could hinder their growth and development.

Asouzu urged parents to avoid feeding their children, especially those under five years with such foods and drinks, warning that they also affect their mental development.

Speaking during an interview with PUNCH HealthWise, the dietician stated that since most artificial sweeteners do not come from natural products and the human body cannot metabolize them, a child may develop several symptoms when taking these sweeteners over some time.

“You know that all these things are being processed by the liver and their liver is still at the growing and maturing age. So, artificial sweeteners affect their growth and hinder many things in their body.

“So, their system is not yet ready to handle some of the synthetic things coming in. By the time all these detoxifications are taking place in the liver, they become a burden to the liver and in the long run, they might have an organ failure. So, children may have an organ failure by consuming artificial sweeteners”, she explained.

The growth of such children, the dietician noted might be retarded and would not grow to their full potential.

Asouzu noted, “Also, studies have shown that weight loss which is the major reason why sweeteners are preferred to sugar is not healthy in children because weight loss in children is not healthy because they are still growing and they need a certain amount of fat to promote brain development and attainment of growth potential absorption of fat-soluble vitamins, especially polyunsaturated fats (plant fats).

She, however, said that some of these sweeteners may be approved and widely used in limited quantities once they relate to children.

She further said, “According to the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics, though artificial sweeteners such as aspartame, saccharine, neotame, acesulfame-K and sucralose don’t cause birth defects or cancer and they aren’t linked to behavior problems, they advise that one should consider offering a wide variety of fruits for children to satisfy their sweet cravings rather than considering artificially sweetened foods and drinks, as many of these sweetened products aren’t always the most nutritious choices and can still fill kids up with empty calories.

“The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that people avoid nonnutritive sweeteners, except in certain circumstances, for instance, by people with Type 1 diabetes. The organisation further calls for regulations requiring manufacturers to label food and drink products with the amount of artificial sweetener they contain, rather than just listing them on the ingredients label”

“Since most artificial sweeteners do not come from natural products and the human body cannot metabolize them, a child may develop several symptoms when taking sweeteners over some time. These symptoms include bloating, loose stools, and gas-related pain.
“The long-term effects of some artificial sweeteners may be unclear but the fact remains that children are in the growing stage of their lives, organs and tissues are being built up and at this stage, all they need is an adequate diet suitable for them”, she added.

Asouzu urged parents to avoid giving artificial sweeteners to their children instead, they should rather give them healthy foods and substitute the sweeteners with fruits that can promote growth.

She also urged parents to make conscious efforts to read the labels of food products given to their children and also choose whole and natural foods as often as possible over artificial foods.

A 2017 study by researchers from the University of Manitoba, Canada found that artificial sweeteners may be associated with long-term weight gain and increased risk of obesity, diabetes, high blood pressure, and heart disease.

In the study published in ScienceDaily, the researchers note that the consumption of artificial sweeteners, such as aspartame and sucralose, is widespread and increasing and that emerging data indicate that artificial, or nonnutritive, sweeteners may have negative effects on metabolism, gut bacteria, and appetite.

SOURCE: Punch Healthwise