Limiting sugar in the first 1,000 days of a baby's life, from conception through the first two years, can reduce the odds of developing type 2 diabetes and hypertension in adulthood. For the interesting finding published in the journal Science, researchers compared the health data of 38,155 people in the UK who were conceived during sugar rationing that was implemented during World War II and 22,028 people conceived just after rationing ended.
“Rationing restricted sugar intake to levels within current dietary guidelines, yet consumption nearly doubled immediately post-rationing,” the study found. Those who lived through sugar rationing had a 35 per cent lower risk of diabetes and a 20 per cent lower risk of high blood pressure in midlife. And for those who were later diagnosed, the onset of diabetes was delayed by four years and high blood pressure by two years. Sugar restriction in the womb accounted for a third of the risk reduction.
Although other foods were also rationed during World War II, the amount people ate did not drastically change when rationing ended, except for sugar. On average, sugar intake during rationing was about eight teaspoons per day, which doubled to about 16 teaspoons per day post rationing.
“Parents need information about what works, and this study provides some of the first causal evidence that reducing added sugar early in life is a powerful step towards improving children’s health over their lifetimes,” the study said.