Scientists have found that there are differences in how the brains of adults and adolescents respond to glucose.
Researchers at the Yale School of Medicine, compared how the brains of teens and adults differed in their response to ingestion of a glucose drink.
They found that in adolescents, glucose increased the blood flow in the regions of the brain implicated in reward-motivation and decision-making, whereas in adults, it decreased the blood flow in these regions.
"While we cannot speculate directly about how glucose ingestion may influence behaviour, certainly we have shown that there are differences in how adults and adolescents respond to glucose," said lead researcher Ania Jastreboff, an Assistant Professor of Medicine and Pediatrics at the Yale School of Medicine.
"This is important because adolescents are the highest consumers of dietary added sugars. This is just the first step in understanding what is happening in the adolescent brain in response to consumption of sugary drinks.
"Ultimately, it will be important to investigate whether such exposure to sugar during adolescence impacts food and drink consumption, and whether it relates to the development of obesity," Jastreboff said.
The study was presented at a meeting of the American Diabetes Association in San Francisco, California.
