Eating less sugar during the first two years of life may benefit brain health decades later, according to a new study. Researchers found that people who were toddlers during the UK’s post-war sugar rationing had a 23% lower risk of dementia and were diagnosed around two and a half years later.
The study analysed nearly 65,000 UK Biobank participants born around the end of sugar rationing in 1953, when average sugar consumption almost doubled from 41g to 80g a day. Earlier research has linked the end of rationing to higher rates of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure later in life.
Researchers say the findings suggest that limiting sugar early in life may have lasting benefits, but experts stress that the observational study cannot prove a direct link. The participants’ actual childhood diets were also unknown and nutrition and lifestyles have changed significantly since the 1940s and 1950s.
The findings nevertheless add to evidence that the first 1,000 days of life are important for long-term health. A healthy, balanced diet remains one of the best ways to support brain health at any age.
