Isomalt sweets and stomach symptoms in young children
What it found
In 67 children aged 6 to 9, eating 25 g of isomalt sweets led to more stomach-ache, rumbling and watery faeces than sucrose sweets.
Most children did not report multiple symptoms and few had symptoms on both days of isomalt consumption.
What they found
Studies in people
Stomach-ache and rumbling
Significantly more children reported stomach-ache and abdominal rumbling after eating isomalt sweets compared with sucrose sweets. These symptoms were more often rated as noticeably or considerably more than usual with isomalt.
Watery faeces
Significantly more children passed watery faeces after isomalt sweets than after sucrose sweets. There were 44 bowel movements with watery faeces after isomalt compared with 5 after sucrose.
Fullness and wind
There was no increase in reported fullness after isomalt sweets compared with sucrose. The number of children reporting wind was not significantly different between the two types of sweets.
Multiple symptoms
Most children did not report multiple symptoms, and few experienced symptoms on both days of isomalt consumption. More children had two, three, four or five symptoms after isomalt than after sucrose, but this difference was not significant.
Children's enjoyment
Isomalt sweets were received as enthusiastically as sucrose sweets. When given the choice, 97% of children asked to be given the isomalt or the sucrose sweets on the second test day.
What the authors conclude
“For the majority of children in the present study, 25 g isomalt-containing sweets represents an acceptable level of consumption, although some children are sensitive to the effects of isomalt ingestion.”
Also in their conclusions
- They conclude that consumption of 25 g isomalt-containing sweets by children is not associated with significant gastrointestinal effects graded as 'considerably more than usual' or multiple symptoms, but is associated with a laxative effect and increase in symptoms graded as 'slightly more than usual'.
- They state that for the majority of children in the present study, 25 g isomalt-containing sweets represents an acceptable level of consumption although some children are sensitive to the effects of isomalt ingestion.
- They recommend that children consume no more than 25 g isomalt-containing sweets per day in addition to their normal unrestricted diet that may contain other low-digestible carbohydrates and/or polyols.
How it was done
Sugar-free sweets with isomalt are widely sold and increasingly aimed at children, but over-consumption may cause gut symptoms or osmotic diarrhoea. Little was known about how well children tolerate isomalt.
Sixty-seven children aged 6 to 9 years ate 25 g of hard-boiled sweets containing either sucrose or isomalt on two consecutive test days, in a double-blind, randomised, controlled, crossover study. They were interviewed the next day about gut symptoms over the 24 hours after eating the sweets.
What it can’t tell you
- This was a randomised trial, so it can show cause and effect for the symptoms measured over the 24 hours after eating the sweets.
- It cannot show what happens with different amounts of isomalt, over longer periods, or in children outside the 6 to 9 age group studied.
Who paid
- Authors work at
- The University of Salford, UK
The paper
- Title
- The comparative gastrointestinal response of young children to the ingestion of 25 g sweets containing sucrose or isomalt
- Type
- Randomised controlled trial
- Evidence
- Studies in people
- Summarised from
- Full text
- Cite
- Storey DM, Lee A, Zumbé A (2002). The comparative gastrointestinal response of young children to the ingestion of 25 g sweets containing sucrose or isomalt. The British journal of nutrition. doi:10.1079/BJNBJN2001513Free full textPubMed 12064338DOI
Summary written 26 Sep 2026. Check it against the paper before it changes what you eat. How we summarise papers · Report an error