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School districts --- Education --- Universities and colleges --- Evaluation

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Despite the widely-held belief that sugar has a detrimental effect on academic performance and behavior of children, so far, no consensus, has been reached in the available literature. Hence, using a double-blind randomized controlled trial, this study aimed to investigate the effect of sugar on in-class performance and behavior of preschool children aged between five and six years. Data was collected for 187 subjects originating from 10 preschool classrooms in six different schools in Flanders, Belgium. Before and approximately 45 minutes after the ingestion of either the challenge substance (1.75 g/kg of sugar) or placebo, academic performance and behavior were examined in classroom setting using a cognitive test and behavior checklist, respectively. Results suggested that, after drinking the challenge substance, boys were found to perform better on the cognitive test, whereas the cognitive performance and behavior of girls deteriorated. Children attending private schools had better cognitive performance after the sugar ingestion.