Sugar restrictions in early life ‘may lower chronic disease risk in adulthood’

The findings are based on data gathered after the Second World War in the UK, around the time when sugar rationing ended.

The study was published in the journal Science (Peter Byrne/PA) (PA Archive)

Limiting exposure to sugar in the first 1,000 days of life may lower the risk of developing chronic diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure in adulthood, scientists have said.

Researchers said this period in early human life – from the moment the baby is conceived right up to the age of two – is a critical window where poor diet can negatively impact health many years later.

The study, published in the journal Science, is based on data from more than 60,000 Britons who were conceived between 1951 and 1956, before and after the rationing of sugary treats ended in 1953.

Limiting exposure to sugar in utero and in early life can protect against T2DM (type 2 diabetes) and hypertension (high blood pressure)

Study authors

The researchers said the sugar restrictions imposed during the Second World War are comparable to today’s dietary guidelines.

The NHS advises consuming no more than 30g of free sugars – found in foods such as sweets, cakes, biscuits, chocolate, and some fizzy drinks and juice – a day, roughly equivalent to seven sugar cubes.

The team found those exposed to sugar rationing had a 35% lower risk of type 2 diabetes and a 20% lower risk of hypertension, compared with people who did not.

The protective effect was “most pronounced” for those exposed to restricted sugar while still developing in the womb, with in utero exposure alone accounting for a third of the risk reduction, the researchers said.

Children today are exposed to excessive sugar in the womb through the mother’s diet, while having breast milk, and by consuming infant formula and solids, the scientists said.

It is now estimated people in the UK get up to 12.5% of their energy (in calories) from free sugars, which is higher than the recommended 5%.

While there is no guideline limit for children under the age of four, a previous study has shown the average UK toddler consumes more than six teaspoons (26.6g) of free sugars each day.

Writing in the paper, the team led by Tadeja Gracner, from the University of Southern California’s Centre for Economic and Social Research, said: “Our findings provide insights beyond the context of rationing.”

We still don't really know if the children less likely to get diabetes later in life were indeed the ones not exposed to sugar in utero or after birth - even in a setting of rationing

Amanda Adler, University of Oxford

They added: “In conclusion, limiting exposure to sugar in utero and in early life can protect against T2DM (type 2 diabetes) and hypertension (high blood pressure).

“Further research is needed to understand the optimal levels of added sugar consumption during pregnancy, lactation, and after the introduction of solids, as well as their pathways to influencing long-term health.”

After the rationing ended in September 1953, the daily sugar consumption among adults sharply increased from 41g to about 80g by 1954, the researchers said.

Other studies also show sugar intake for children more than doubled post-rationing and that their oral health deteriorated as well, they added.

Commenting on the current study, Amanda Adler, professor of diabetic medicine and health policy from the University of Oxford’s Radcliffe Department of Medicine, who was not involved in the study, said the research is intriguing but does not take into account other factors, such as being less active, that could influence the risk of type 2 diabetes.

She said: “The investigators observed that people conceived during rationing indeed had lower rates of disease when compared to people conceived after rationing ended.

“But we still don’t really know if the children less likely to get diabetes later in life were indeed the ones not exposed to sugar in utero or after birth – even in a setting of rationing.

“It may be that at the same time rationing ended and people consumed more sugar, they also changed other habits (such as) becoming, for example, less physically active.

This should reinforce the actions of policymakers for the promotion of low sugar intake during these critical life stages in parents and children

Jerusa Brignardello, Oxford Brookes University

“So this may have influenced in part their risk for diabetes later in life.”

Jerusa Brignardello, lecturer in dietetics and nutrition at Oxford Brookes University, said the study should be “a call for attention for women in the stages of preconception, pregnancy, and parents of children in early life”.

She said: “This should reinforce the actions of policymakers for the promotion of low sugar intake during these critical life stages in parents and children.”