Cutting Sugar in Childhood Can Prevent a Lifetime of Health Problems
As the holiday season approaches, it’s normal for kids, and even adults to indulge their sweet tooth more than usual. But recent research provides a stark reminder about the long-term health effects of sugar, particularly for the very young ones.
Newly published research sheds light on how reducing sugar in the first 1,000 days after conception might significantly lower a child’s risk of chronic illnesses later in life. That means from gestation up to age 2, lower sugar could be a real game-changer.
Daily sugar consumption
Using data from before and after the end of the UK’s World War II-era sugar rationing in 1953, the researchers embarked on a thrilling journey back in time.
During the war, food rationing was the norm. Essentials like sugar, fats, bacon, meat, and cheese were scarce. But once sugar rationing ended post-war, the average adult’s daily sugar consumption in the UK nearly doubled in no time flat, jumping from 40 grams to 80 grams.
Impact of sugar on health
The researchers studied nearly 60,183 participants born between October 1951 and March 1956, looking to determine the effects of this sugar consumption spike.
The lead author, Tadeja Gracner, a senior economist at the University of Southern California, noted that this situation prompted a unique natural experiment.
The team analyzed figures from the UK Biobank, a large biomedical database, which showed how babies conceived or born during rationing had a 30% decrease in obesity risk. Interestingly, there was a more rapid increase in type 2 diabetes and hypertension in those born after the sugar ration ended.
More than a sweet tooth
“We are designed to like sweet things from the moment of birth,” said Dr. Mark Corkins, the division chief of pediatric gastroenterology and professor of pediatrics at the University of Tennessee Health Science Center, who was not involved with the new research.
