Jonathan Enumdɛɛ Mensah, a seven-year-old boy, was crying for his second bottle of soft drink.
His teacher, Madam Ivy, was at her wits' end as to what to do after already giving him an initial bottle, two candies and doughnuts that came as his snacks for the day.
The incessant weeping became so intense that it began to disrupt his classmates and other nearby classes.
This caught the ear of the headmaster, who came to find out what was happening.
Madam Ivy reported that a previously euphoric Jonathan, who was jumping on the tables during the first break time, had suddenly become irritable, sluggish and sleepy after three hours of taking his snack.
The extreme excitement and quiet episodes made the teacher wonder if he had a form of mental or emotional disorder or was mistakenly being given some opioids at home.
She grudgingly had to give him another bottle of soft drink so that he would be silent for class to continue.
When school closed, his mother came by to pick him up. When she was informed of the day’s happenings, she sighed in despair, saying, I don’t even know what is wrong with my child or what to do anymore.
She revealed that this was usual at home and had to give her child some pastries, refined juices, and stay up for hours almost every evening before he went to bed.
Soft drinks
This real-life story is a usual occurrence in many homes where soft drinks are given to children to stop them from crying. The headmaster’s question is of interest to me in this piece.
The question of the day is: Are our children on opium? Yes, our children are on “crack” and “opium”.
The opium of today's children is sugar. This is an issue that should concern every parent, teacher, caregiver, trainer, Sunday school teacher, pastor, and indeed the entire nation.
We are raising a generation of children who are becoming increasingly dependent on sugar, with serious consequences for their mental development, physical growth, emotional well-being, sleep patterns, oral health, nutritional status, and overall health.
Worrying
It is deeply worrying to imagine the burden of chronic health conditions this generation may face in adulthood if we fail to act now.
The time has come for families, schools, churches, policymakers, and communities to work together to promote healthier eating habits and reduce children's excessive consumption of sugary foods and drinks.
Table sugar, known as sucrose, is a disaccharide that contains two units of glucose. There are other forms of simple sugars, such as fructose found in fruits, maltose found in malted foods and lactose found in milk.
The sugar of concern that is often abused is sucrose. It is mainly high in pastries, candies and sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs).
These SSBs include: soft drinks, energy drinks, refined fruit juices (packed or canned), sweetened iced tea and coffee drinks.
The continuous intake of these drinks can be toxic to children and adults. For children, it could lead to difficulties in sleep when taken close to bedtime, as sugar excites the brain and leads to a surge in hormones that do not induce sleep.
No wonder our children find it difficult to sleep early nowadays and stay awake even after 10 pm. The immediate surge in blood glucose after the intake of these foods leads to high insulin levels that quickly drop blood glucose levels.
The rapid rise and fall of blood glucose, coupled with fluctuating levels of hormones ‒ adrenaline, cortisol and dopamine ‒ are associated with the irritability, anxiety, sluggishness and sleepy experiences of Jonathan when the reward centre of the brain is starved of sugar.
The likelihood of addiction is then imminent, and he continuously needs sugar to stay active and excited. These are crack and opium effects; no wonder the hyperactiveness is seen in many children today.
Consider
So next time you want to give your child a snack, consider blended fruit juice, soy milk, fresh fruit cutlets, bread sandwich, cocoa fortified pancakes, etc instead of these SSBs.
You may be saving a whole generation after you from juvenile obesity, dental caries, emotional instability, sleep difficulties, among others.
Schools should refrain from serving sugary foods and drinks in their canteens and on school premises. Likewise, Sunday schools and children's ministries should discourage the distribution of candies and soft drinks during birthday celebrations to help prevent children from developing unhealthy eating habits.
While offering such treats occasionally may be acceptable, they should never become part of children's daily diets.
Let us all play our part in protecting our children from the harmful effects of excessive sugar consumption, which has become as addictive and damaging as a modern-day "opium" to many.
The writer is a registered dietitian/lecturer at the University of Health and Allied Sciences, Ho.
