Sugars and sweeteners in children’s diets

Obesity is one of the most significant non-communicable diseases of our time. Among the key causes of its development is the stereotype of modern human diet with its inherent excessive intake of “critical” nutrients, in particular simple carbohydrates. The possibility of reducing the consumption of added sugars by replacing them with non-nutritive sweeteners is discussed, including in the organization of child nutrition. The interest in non-nutritive sweeteners stems from their lack of energy value and glycemic index while being able to provide a sweet taste. This article presents a review of the literature on the use of sweeteners in the diet of children and adolescents. The current classification of sweeteners, their physical and chemical properties, data of clinical studies on the effectiveness of using non-nutritive sweeteners in the diet of children and adolescents, including their influence on eating behavior, metabolism, and body weight dynamics, are presented. Nowadays most authors consider it inappropriate to include non-nutritive sweeteners in the diet of healthy children, which is reflected in domestic and international recommendations. The efficacy and safety of using non-nutritive sweeteners in children’s diets require further controlled scientific studies involving large groups of children Key words: obesity, sweeteners, children, body weight