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Cambridge University Science Magazine
 

The study showed that consumption of high sugar diet during adolescence has an impact on metabolism and memory function. The study showed that consumption of high sugar diet during adolescence has an impact on metabolism and memory function.
Last month, Scott Kanoski and his group studied adolescent rats to model the effect of high sugar diet on memory in the developing brain. Memory function and brain inflammation was assessed  in a group of adolescent rats with free access to liquids containing a high concentration of sugar and compared their performance to a group of adolescent rats on a normal diet and adult rats on high sugar. All groups were tested in various mazes to examine their spatial memory abilities and inflammation was also investigated in the hippocampus, a region critical for memory and spatial navigation.

The group of adolescent rats consuming the high sugar liquids had a worse performance in the mazes compared to adolescent controls rats (with normal diet) which might be linked to inflammation on the hippocampus. Also, this impairment was not observed in adult rats on a high sugar diet.

Therefore, the study showed that consumption of high sugar diet during adolescence, a critical period for brain development, not only has an impact on metabolism but also on memory function. This result has important implications regarding the effect of drinking large amounts of sweetened beverages during teenage years.

DOI: 10.1002/hipo.22368

Written by Laetitia Schwab.