Aidan Duke and Riker
Nunn
Writers
Since Halloween’s creation
there have been many urban
legends that spoke about the

frightful apparitions and crea-
tures that terrorized people on

the holiday.
However, in the 1950s
parents started to worry
about their children’s safety
due to the idea that sadistic
neighbors were tampering
with candy spreading across
America.
These accusations soon
proved to be false begging the
question of whether the real
danger of Halloween is not
tampered candy but the candy
itself?
According to Forbes, 600
million pounds of candy are

bought every year during Hal-
loween in America.

This means that nearly ev-
ery adult and child consume

around 3.4 pounds of candy
related to the holiday.

Not only are people’s bod-
ies deteriorating leisurely

from the plethora of sugar but
their brain and behavior are as
well.
People’s reactions to the
exterior world are balanced

by dopamine, neurotransmit-
ter that plays an important

role in bodily functions.

The responsibility of dopa-
mine is to create a pleasurable

reward that allows motivation
for people according to the
National Institutes of Health.
Sugar alters the brain’s
reward system by making

people feel compelled to con-
sume sugary products.

One person that has stud-
ied the effects sugar has on

an individual’s brain is Dr.
Nicole Avena, a professor of
neuroscience at Mount Sinai
of Medicine and Princeton
University.
“There have been many
studies that have confirmed
that sugar can cause changes
in the brain and behaviors

that are associated with ad-
diction,” said Avena. “Some

people who overeat sugar
meet the diagnostic criteria
for substance-abuse disorder,

when the substance of abuse
is actually sugar.”

Oftentimes, sugar is ne-
glected in the fact that it can

impact a person’s mental
health the same as gambling,
drinking, using social media
or even using drugs according
to Mental Health America.
Another person that has
witnessed the influence that
sugar, let alone candy, has
on someone is Marlow High
School junior Kaleb Miller.

“I have personally wit-
nessed several people in my

life change from eating too
much candy by craving more
and more sugar.”
Yelling out, “trick or treat”
provides a reward in the form
of candy which satisfies one’s
primitive brain and reinforces
the behavior, but eventually
tolerance builds, requiring

more and more of the sub-
stance to generate the high

that is craved, according to
Yale Medicine.

While Halloween is a won-
derful time to partake in holi-
day traditions it is best to von-
sume candy in moderation.