Viele Kinder lieben Süßigkeiten. Auch ist längst bekannt, dass Süßigkeiten bei Kindern schmerzstillend wirken können.
Eine Studie hat nun untersucht, ob diese Wirkung von verschiedenen Parametern abhängt, insbesondere Geschmack und Gewicht.
Zunächst einmal wurden die Kinder nach ihrem Süßempfinden eingeteilt. Ein normaler Softdrink enthält ca. 6 Teelöffel Zucker pro 250ml. Die bevorzugte Süß-Konzentration bei Kindern lag aber im Durchschnitt bei 11 Teelöffeln Zucker pro 250ml. Ungefähr 50% aller Kinder und 25% aller Mütter bevorzugten Getränke mit 14 Teelöffeln Zucker pro 250ml (= 24%ige Zuckerlösung).
Sodann wurde getestet, wie lange eine Person ihre Hände in 10 Grad kaltem Wasser halten kann, einmal mit einer 24%igen Zuckerlösung (= 14 Teelöffel Zucker pro 250ml) im Mund und ein anderes Mal mit Wasser im Mund.
Dabei zeigte sich, dass normalgewichtige Kinder bei einer Zuckerlösung dann signifikant länger ihre Hände im kalten Wasser halten konnten (= verringertes Schmerzempfinden), wenn sie geschmacklich zu sehr süß tendierten. Diese Unterschiede kamen bei übergewichtigen Kindern mit starkem Süßempfinden nur deutlich verringert zum tragen.
Kein Unterschied im Schmerzempfinden trat bei den Müttern auf, egal welche Süßkonzentration sie geschmacklich bevorzugten.
Abstract:
A spoonful of sugar makes some kids feel good
Sweet taste’s ability to reduce pain is related to both sweet liking and body weight
It's no secret that children like sweet-tasting foods and beverages. It's also known that sweet taste acts as an analgesic in children, reducing their perception of pain.
Now researchers at the Monell Chemical Senses Center report in the current issue of the journal Pain that the analgesic efficacy of sweet taste is influenced both by how much a child likes sweet taste and by the child's weight status.
"Some children like sweets not just because they taste good, but also because sweets make them feel good," explains senior author Julie Mennella, Ph.D. "This study further reveals that for children, sweetness' effectiveness as an analgesic is related to liking for sweet taste and also to weight status."
In the study, sucrose preferences were determined for 198 children, ranging in age from 5 to 10 years, and their mothers. Children as a group preferred higher levels of sweetness than the adults, selecting a favorite sweetness concentration equivalent to adding 11 teaspoons of sugar to an 8-ounce glass of water. For comparison, an 8-ounce serving of soda contains approximately 6 teaspoons of sugar.
There were individual differences across both age groups, with approximately half of the children and one quarter of mothers preferring sucrose concentrations of 24 percent (14 teaspoons per 8-ounce water) or greater.
To evaluate response to pain, the researchers used a classical model known as the cold pressor test, measuring how long subjects were able to keep their hands in a cold water bath maintained at 50 degrees F (10 C). The cold pressor test was repeated twice, once with the subject holding a 24 percent sucrose solution in the mouth and again with water in the mouth.
In normal weight children, palliative properties of the sweet sucrose taste were related to the children's sweet preferences: sucrose reduced the experience of pain in children with higher sweet taste preferences, but not in children who preferred lower concentrations of sweetness.
However, when the child's weight status was taken into account, sucrose's effectiveness as an analgesic was blunted in overweight and at-risk-for-overweight children who preferred higher levels of sweetness.
Mennella comments, "This intriguing finding may reflect differences in brain chemistry systems. Additional studies clearly are needed to evaluate how dietary habits and individual differences contribute to preference for sweet taste in children and its physiological consequences."
Unlike for children, sweet taste was not an effective analgesic for mothers, regardless of their preferred sweetness level.
"Even women who preferred high levels of sweetness similar to that selected by the majority of children did not evidence an analgesic response to sucrose. Thus, the lack of an analgesic response to sucrose during adulthood apparently is not due to the lowered sucrose preference observed in adults overall," states lead author Yanina Pepino, Ph.D.
"Children and adults differ with regard to a wide variety of physiological and endocrine differences, and future studies should identify variables that promote or impede the ability of sweet taste to act as an analgesic in both children and adults."
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Anmerkung von migraeneinformation.de:
Hieraus könnte man auch schließen: Je konzentrierter ein Kind den Zucker bevorzugt, desto größer ist bereits die Abhängigkeit und je effizienter steigert Zucker das Wohlbefinden. Bei übergewichtigen Kindern liegt möglicherweise bereits eine Zuckerstoffwechselstörung vor, so dass sich die Wirkung nur noch abgeschwächt entfalten kann.
