Diabetes, fatty liver disease, obesity, dental caries: the scourge of sugar ravages children’s health and worries many specialists

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Diabetes, fatty liver disease, obesity, dental caries: excessive sugar consumption is wreaking havoc on the health of many Quebec children who require heavy and expensive health care, doctors worry.

Sweet drinks, cookies, granola bars, cakes: sugar in all its forms is widely consumed by young Quebecers.

“The more we eat, the more our brain wants it,” emphasizes pediatrician Dr. Julie St-Pierre, who specializes in obesity in young people. We eat it more often [qu’avant] and more in everything.”

“I was not able to resist”

The main health problems linked to sugar in children are: obesity, type 2 diabetes and a “silent epidemic” of tooth decay in toddlers (read Monday).

Some become more dependent than others on sugar, an addiction that can make you sick.

“I wasn’t able to resist, it was just stronger than me to take it,” he confided Alexandre Lazure-Lagacé, 13, about his consumption of soft drinks.

The newspaper also met a child who was diagnosed with fatty liver at just two years old.

According to several specialists, sugary drinks (juices, soft drinks, specialty coffees or teas), which often contain more than 30 grams (g) of sugar per serving, are the main source of overconsumption among young people. In a day, the total amount of sugar ingested should not exceed 10% of calories (see tables below).

“Our environment makes it much more accessible, there are everywhere we turn,” summarizes Marie-Claude Paquette, nutritionist at the National Institute of Public Health of Quebec. It’s not expensive and sugar is an innate taste for children.”

“We really need to reduce. I see young people in clinic who take a liter a day [du jus de fruits]», Notes Dr. Mélanie Henderson, endocrinologist at Sainte-Justine hospital.

According to Dr. St-Pierre, sugar represents a glaring public health problem, just like cigarettes in the past.

Like cigarettes

“When I see a child with a Coca-Cola or an iced tea, it shocks me as much as a child with a cigarette in their mouth,” compares the specialist from the Montreal Children’s Hospital.

The relationship between sugar and obesity “is clear,” writes the Heart and Stroke Foundation.

Worryingly, new cases of type 2 diabetes increased by 60% among Canadian children between 2008 and 2019, showed a study published in 2023. A disease that almost did not exist 20 years ago.

Pediatrician Julie St-Pierre, from the Montreal Children’s Hospital. Photo Pierre-Paul Poulin

“It’s really major,” says Dr. Henderson, who worries about the already mortgaged future of these children.

“It’s a scourge at the moment,” adds Dr. St-Pierre.

The main risk factor for type 2 diabetes is obesity, which affects approximately 10% of Quebec children. Two elements stand out to justify this jump in diagnoses: poor diet (including sugar) and a sedentary lifestyle. Genetic factors also come into play.

“We are facing an illness that will generate endless consultations. It’s going to cost a real fortune. »

– Dr Rémi Rabasa-Lhoret, endocrinologist

image taken from the CHUM website

Doctors are all the more concerned as this disease at a young age is more aggressive and treatment failure is more frequent. In Sainte-Justine, young people aged 12 or 13 even already have illnesses associated with their diabetes (eyes, kidneys, hypertension).

Choose treats better

Other problems can also be linked to excessive sugar consumption, such as concentration and memory problems. In the longer term, heart problems and cancers are also associated.

Despite everything, specialists do not believe that parents should forbid sugar from their children, but that they should dose treats better.

“The goal is not to 100% eliminate all types of sugar in the diet, but we should give them their rightful place,” explains Marie-Jeanne Rossier-Bisaillon, nutritionist at the Association for Public Health of Quebec.

Is sugar a drug? Sugar can create an addiction as strong as that to hard drugs, alcohol or compulsive gambling, confirms Dr. Julie St-Pierre, pediatrician. As with all drugs, some individuals are more at risk than others. Sugar sends a message of pleasure to the brain and increases dopamine levels. The more the brain gets used to it, the stronger the dose must be to feel the same pleasure. Children are as much at risk of sugar addiction as adults. “The younger you start, the more likely you are to develop this addiction to sugar,” adds Dr. St-Pierre. How much sugar can you eat per day? Sugar should not exceed 10% of daily energy needs and ideally 5%. Here are the 10% recommendations: ▪ 0-2 years: 0 g
▪ Young children: approximately 15 g to 40 g per day *, or 4 to 10 teaspoons
▪ Children and adolescents: approximately 48 g for a 2000 calorie diet, or 12 teaspoons * The recommended amount of sugar varies depending on daily energy intake. Several factors influence it: age, sex and activity level. The figures are for information only. With an intake of 5%, the quantities are reduced by half.
Source: WHO, Heart and Stroke Foundation, Canadian Pediatric Society, being born and growing What about snacks? The sugars contained in fruits, vegetables and milk are not harmful to your health. However, many parents would be surprised to see the amount of sugar in some of their children’s favorite snacks. Here are some examples:

Photos Martin Chevalier, Journal de Montréal

Is natural juice good?
Drinking apple juice causes you to ingest much more sugar than eating an apple. The fruit provides nutrients, fiber and a feeling of satiety. Juice does not meet any nutritional needs.

The Solution: Drink Water
Replacing sugary drinks with water is a crucial element in reducing sugar consumption since it is good for your health and free, insist several experts.

Photo Agency QMI

Sugar in all its forms:
▪ Natural sugar: that found in fruits or milk
▪ Added sugars or free sugars: little or no nutritional value (sweetened drinks)
▪ Types of sugar: White sugar, brown sugar, molasses, honey, maple syrup
▪ Other names: Glucose, fructose, dextrose, maltose, sucrose Source: Heart + Stroke Foundation

Not just the responsibility of parents

Reducing children’s sugar consumption requires better education and more industry regulations, several experts argue.

“Parents certainly have some responsibility, but we cannot put everything on their shoulders. […] The marketing is very aggressive, insists nutritionist Marie-Jeanne Rossier-Bisaillon, of the Association for Public Health of Quebec. We need environments that promote healthy habits.”

All stakeholders contacted by The newspaper agree: the government must further regulate the sale of sugary products and educate the population.

“Until we put the power to choose through knowledge in the hands of the consumer, that will not change,” says pediatrician Dr. Julie St-Pierre.

Example of tags:
▪ Less misleading labeling on so-called “health” or “natural” products
▪ Limit the amount of sugar allowed in products
▪ Rate products according to their nutritional value (green, yellow, red)

Moreover, new labeling will appear on ultra-processed products in Canada from 2026. Products that are too fatty, too sweet or too salty must have a symbol in the shape of a magnifying glass on the front to enlighten the consumer.

SCREENSHOT HEALTH CANADA

Tax sugary drinks?

The taxation of sugary drinks has also had beneficial effects on consumption in certain countries such as Mexico. In Quebec, several experts are in favor of this measure.

“Taxation would be interesting if the amounts collected were put back into the health system to promote lifestyle habits,” underlines Dr. Mélanie Henderson, endocrinologist at Sainte-Justine Hospital.

Furthermore, consumer education is also a key element to enable them to make good choices.

“There are people more vulnerable than others,” underlines Michel Lucas, researcher at the CHU de Québec specializing in nutritional epidemiology. The uneducated consumer is completely caught up in this. […] It becomes a problem, a hellish wheel.”

“Grandparents have a role to play,” he adds. We think we’re doing good by giving a treat, but it’s not the right thing.”

About 40% of donated school snacks are loaded with sugar

Muffins, fruit juices or the famous “Bear Paws” pancakes are still very present in Quebec schools: approximately 40% of the snacks offered to students which come from donations are stuffed with sugar, according to a Quebec survey published the year last.

It was a survey carried out by the Vital collective (formerly the Weight Coalition) which made it possible to see a little more clearly in the variety of foods offered to students in primary schools, in the light of a survey carried out among of 273 stakeholders from the school network.

“We had parents who were complaining about donations that certain schools were receiving and we wanted to know what was going on,” says its general director, Corinne Voyer.

Food received in the form of donations, from community organizations, grocery stores or businesses, has been targeted since there seems to be more “laxity” on this level compared to food purchased directly by schools, explains Ms. See.

Result: food donations were present in 64% of the schools that participated in this survey, and among the snacks offered for free, approximately 40% were “ultraprocessed products high in sugar” (such as granola bars, desserts, sweetened yogurts or chocolate milk), which goes against the guidelines in force in the school network.

In addition to having an impact on children’s health, the fact that these sugary snacks are distributed at school sends a very “bad message” to students, says Ms. Voyer.

Furthermore, the students most likely to eat snacks loaded with sugar are those living in disadvantaged areas, where donations are most frequent, even though they are often the ones who consume the most unnutritious foods at home.

“In my opinion, we are harming these students because we are increasing our health gaps,” laments Ms. Voyer.

— Daphnée Dion-Viens, Le Journal de Québec

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