Reducing the amount of sugar children get in the womb and as toddlers can protect them from diabetes and high blood pressure in adulthood, research suggests.
The finding shows a critical period for healthy nutrition in the first 1,000 days of life, as babies initially absorb nutrients from their mother and move on to formula and baby food.
Scientists found that limiting sugar intake to Dietary Guidelines levels in early life was linked to a 35% drop in rates of type 2 diabetes in middle age and a 20% drop in high blood pressure.
A low-sugar diet also appeared to delay the onset of the chronic diseases, with diabetes and high blood pressure developing four and two years later respectively in people who had little sugar at the start of life compared to those who did not. which consumed much more.
Tadeja Gračner, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles, said: “Exposure to a relatively low-sugar environment in utero and early childhood significantly reduces the risk of diabetes and hypertension decades later, as well as delays its onset. “
The researchers took advantage of a natural experiment in the United Kingdom as a decade of postwar sugar and sweet rationing ended in 1953. During rationing, the sugar allowance was comparable to levels set in modern dietary guidelines, but consumption almost doubled soon after the restrictions were lifted, from around 40g to 80g per day.
Using UK Biobank data, the scientists compared midlife health for 38,000 people who were pregnant and born during rationing and 22,000 people who were pregnant soon after.
Their analysis, published in Sciencefound that rates of diabetes and high blood pressure were significantly lower for those who were pregnant and reached two years of age during sugar rationing. Time spent in utero accounted for about one-third of the reduction in risk.
The NHS recommends that free sugars – those added to food and drink and found naturally in honey, syrups and unsweetened fruit and vegetable drinks – should not exceed 5% of daily caloriesequivalent to 30g or seven sugar cubes for an adult. There is no guideline for children under four, but they are advised to avoid sugar-sweetened drinks and foods with added sugar. On average, Britons consume around twice the recommended daily amount.
Gračner said: “We all want to improve our health and give our children the best start in life, and cutting added sugar early is a powerful step in that direction. But it is far from easy. Added sugar is everywhere, even in baby and toddler foods, and children are bombarded with TV ads for sugary snacks.
“While improving nutrition literacy among parents and caregivers is key, we also need to hold companies accountable to reformulate baby food with healthier options and regulate the marketing and pricing of sweet foods aimed at children. With better information, environment and the right incentives, parents can more easily reduce sugar exposure for their children and themselves.”
Prof Keith Godfrey, from the University of Southampton, said: “This is compelling new evidence, providing further support that reducing the unborn and newborn’s exposure to sugar has lasting benefits, reducing the risk of include diabetes and high blood pressure in later adulthood.
“The findings are consistent with our research showing lower obesity in the children of mothers who eat low glycemic index foods during pregnancy that are digested and absorbed more slowly, causing a slower rise in blood sugar levels.”
Dr Nina Rogers, a research fellow at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: “There is strong evidence that high levels of sugar consumption in children and adults can contribute to poor health, but this new study highlights the importance of a diets low in added sugars in the earliest stages of life, during the prenatal period and the first years of life, to protect against ill health in midlife.
“The findings suggest that public health interventions should be developed for this critical period of development to enable easy access to affordable high-quality low-sugar diets.”
