Can Too Much Sugar Lower Your Child's Academic Performance?
Can too much sugar affect your child's grades. See what the research says.
11/10/20263 min read
Juice boxes at lunch, cookies after school, cupcakes at every classroom party. Sweets show up all through a child's day, and many parents wonder whether all that sugar is showing up on the report card too.
The short answer: one treat won't derail a school day. But a growing body of research suggests that a steady habit of sugary drinks and snacks may make it harder for kids to learn at their best.
What the research says
Sugary drinks and test scores. Several studies have found that kids who drink more soda, sweet tea and other sugar-sweetened beverages tend to score lower in school. A 2022 study of junior high students linked higher sugary-drink intake to lower test scores, and Australian research has tied it to lower reading and math scores. These studies show a connection, not proof of cause, but the pattern keeps appearing.
A classroom experiment. In Belgium, researchers gave 462 preschoolers either a sugary drink (35 grams of sugar, about what's in a can of soda) or an artificially sweetened one, then tracked them through the school day. Neither the children nor the testers knew who got which. The boys who had the sugary drink became more restless after about an hour, and their math scores dropped. Girls weren't affected the same way. It's one study, and more research is needed, but it's a striking look at what a single sugary drink can do in a real classroom.
The whole plate matters. A Canadian study linked sixth graders' eating habits to their standardized exam results. Students who came closer to dietary recommendations, including limits on added sugars, did better on those exams.
What about the "sugar high"?
Here's a surprise: the classic idea that sugar makes most kids bounce off the walls doesn't hold up well. A major review of blinded studies, published in JAMA in 1995, found sugar didn't affect most children's behavior or thinking. Much of what we see at parties may come from excitement, routine changes and our own expectations.
So the real concern isn't one cupcake. It's the everyday pattern: sugary drinks and snacks crowding out the meals and snacks that help kids feel steady and ready to learn.
How much is too much?
According to the CDC, U.S. children and teens ages 2–19 averaged about
17 teaspoons of added sugar a day in 2017–2018. The American Heart Association
recommends less than 6 teaspoons a day for kids ages 2–18. The 2025–2030
Dietary Guidelines for Americans go further, recommending no added sugars at
all for children under 11.
Beyond the classroom, too much added sugar raises the risk of tooth decay, excess weight gain and type 2 diabetes.
Sweetness without the excess
Here's the good news: kids don't have to give up sweet treats. They just need better ones.
That's why Bright Start Nutrition Network created Sweet Freedom: Kick the Sugar Habit with Naturally Delicious Desserts for Kids. It's a family cookbook with 30+ recipes and ideas where dates, bananas and berries do most of the sweetening. When honey or maple syrup appear, they're used in modest amounts, because they still count as added sugar.
Inside, you'll find favorites like:
Fudgy Date Brownies
Banana Nice Cream 3 Ways
Berry Coconut Popsicles
2-Ingredient Banana Pancakes
Many recipes are simple enough for kids to help make, and kids who help in the kitchen are often more excited to try what they made.
Small swaps add up. Trading one sugary drink or packaged snack a day for a naturally sweetened treat is a realistic place to start, and it's one your kids will actually enjoy.
Ready to bring sweetness back without the sugar overload? Get your copy of Sweet Freedom.
Sources
Schiltz & De Witte, sugary drinks and preschool behavior and cognition (trial registry) · ScienceAlert summary
Sugar-sweetened beverages and academic performance in junior school students (Nutrients, 2022)
Adherence to dietary recommendations and Canadian children's academic achievement (2017)
Medical myths: does sugar make children hyperactive? (JAMA 1995 meta-analysis)
This post offers general nutrition education and is not medical advice. Talk with your child's healthcare provider about specific dietary needs.
