Sugar addiction? Dd 11

[Ledkr]

Dd seems constantly to want sugary stuff.
Is literally obsessed and will try and trick or cheat her way into eating it.
We have a fairly average diet I'd say, we cook from scratch and she eats most things well but is always sniffing about for biscuits or crisps or sweets, if I'm not looking she puts loads of sugar on her cereal.
I don't buy loads of crap but do like a few treats in the cupboard, we are going to clear it all out tonight though, we already hid the sugar.
There's always a big bowl if fruit and plenty of healthier alternatives.
She's very active and healthy but is quite thin.
I know teens are junk food fans but I've got through three teenage boys and they weren't as bad as this.
Could it be an illness making her like this?
What can I do?

Hi Ledkr, sorry to hear about your dd's love of sugar. I think it's important not to make a big deal out of this if at all possible (I'm sure this easier said than done though) because you don't want food to become a contentious issue. How old is your dd and what does she have to say about it? Is there anyway that you can reach an agreement about the amount of junk food that she can eat? I know that in an ideal world she wouldn't have any but banning it completely might cause more problems.

I'm not sure whether her sugar cravings could be a medical issue. If you have the wherewithal perhaps you could speak to a nutritionist who specialises in dealing with children/teenagers. Maybe you could study nutrition together so that she can understand why sugar is so bad for her and then have her own motivation to eat well... If you're really worried and money isn't an issue then perhaps you could get some tests done by a nutritionist (like a hair analysis) or just get your GP to run some tests. My instinct is that she is just being a normal teenager though. My sister and I both ate loads of sweet stuff for a couple of years as teenagers (far too much looking back) but we just grew out of it - me when I realsed it would clear up my skin and my sister when she started gaining weight. Our parents did limit junk food bit at home but we would spend our pocket money on it. We're both extremely healthy now and we're both fit/thin. It could therefore just be a stage your daughter is going through which she will naturally come out of on her own just like my sister and I did.

I doubt I've been very helpful here. Hopefully someone who s better informed will come along shortly.

Very best of luck.

Thankyou for such a thoughtful reply.
I have been googling and think you are right we should do it together. I could do with losing a few pounds so it won't do me any harm either to "support" her.
I'm not going to have anything sweet lying around and lots of tasty alternatives.
She's a really good girl so it shocks me to see her be so defiant in order to get her fix.

I'm sure that if you do it together it will work. A united front makes a lot of sense when it comes to tweens/teens I think.

It must be a shock to see your normally very well behaved daughter being defiant. I do think its very normal behaviour though.

She's lucky to have a mum who is giving it so much thought and cares so much about her health.

My boys are sugar junkies. Oh yes.

Could you compromise with some winter puddings eg apple crumble? And get dark brown sugar and honey? (not that it makes much difference).

I think it is their age but also the time of year, when their bodies want to stock up a little for the winter.and on top of that, lots of cold weather team dames at school.