WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - A study published in npj Aging found that babies who were exposed to less sugar before and after birth had a lower risk of developing dementia, Alzheimer's disease, depression, and anxiety later in life.
The study looked at what happened after sugar rationing ended in the UK. When restrictions were lifted in 1953, people started eating much more sugar, creating a unique opportunity for researchers to compare health outcomes.
During and after World War II, sugar was strictly rationed in the UK. Adults received amounts close to today's recommended intake, while children under two were not given a separate sugar allowance. After rationing ended in September 1953, average daily sugar intake for adults nearly doubled from about 41 grams to 80 grams. Children's candy consumption also more than doubled.
Researchers in China analyzed health data from 60,394 people in the UK Biobank who were born between 1951 and 1956. They found that people whose first 1,000 days of life occurred during the sugar rationing period had a 2 percent lower risk of developing any type of dementia and a 46 percent lower risk of Alzheimer's disease compared with those born after rationing ended. They also had an 11 percent lower risk of depression and a 20 percent lower risk of anxiety. However, the study did not find a similar link with Parkinson's disease.
The benefits were strongest for people who continued to have limited sugar intake after birth. Being exposed to sugar restrictions only before birth showed little difference, except for a lower risk of anxiety. Researchers also examined brain scans from some participants. They found that people exposed to lower sugar intake after birth had brains that appeared about 0.4 years younger than their actual age. They also had larger brain areas involved in memory and thinking, including the hippocampus and thalamus.
While the study does not prove that eating less sugar directly prevents these conditions, the findings suggest that limiting sugar early in life may support better brain health in adulthood.
'These quasi-experimental findings suggest that early-life sugar restriction is associated with attenuated neurobiological aging and lower risks of dementia and psychiatric disorders,' the authors wrote.
'These findings require replication in contemporary cohorts with detailed early-life dietary assessments before informing clinical or public health recommendations.'
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