Kids Who Eat Less Sugar (Even in the Womb!) Are Less Likely to Have Diabetes: Study

A new study has found that limiting the amount of sugar that babies get in the first 1,000 days after conception is linked to decreased rates of diabetes and high blood pressure later in life.

Published in Science on Thursday, Oct. 31, the study found that restricting sugar early in kids’ lives was linked to a 20% drop in high blood pressure diagnoses in middle age, as well as a 35% drop in type 2 diabetes.

“We examined the impact of sugar exposure within 1,000 days since conception on diabetes and hypertension,” the researchers wrote. “…We found that early-life [sugar] rationing reduced diabetes and hypertension risk.”

“In-utero sugar rationing alone accounted for about one-third of the risk reduction,” the study authors wrote.

The low-sugar diet also was linked to a delay in diabetes and high blood pressure diagnoses. People who had less sugar as children were found to have delayed onset of diabetes by four years, and a delayed onset of high blood pressure by two years.

To conduct the study, researchers from the University of Southern California, McGill University and University of California, Berkeley, used historical data from the U.K. to compare the health of 38,000 people in middle age born during a period of sugar rationing against the health of 22,000 people who were born in the postwar period after sugar rationing ended in 1953.

According to the study, people born during the period of rationing consumed around 40 grams (about 2.8 tablespoons) per day to around 80 grams (around 5.6 tablespoons).

“Exposure to a relatively low-sugar environment in utero and early childhood significantly reduces the diabetes and hypertension risk decades later, as well as delays their onset,” Tadeja Gračner, a researcher from USC who co-authored the study told The Guardian.

Modern dietary guidelines in the U.S. suggest that children under the age of two should have no added sugars at all, according to the CDC. The American Academy of Pediatrics also states that parents should aim to feed children over two years old less than 25 grams (about 6 teaspoons) of added sugar per day.

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The researchers also noted to The Guardian that the results from this study could help inform how baby formula and other baby foods are made.

“We all want to improve our health and give our children the best start in life, and reducing added sugar early is a powerful step in that direction. But it’s far from easy,” Gračner added to The Guardian. “Added sugar is everywhere, even in baby and toddler foods, and children are bombarded with TV ads for sugary snacks.”

“While improving nutritional literacy among parents and caregivers is key, we should also hold companies accountable to reformulate baby foods with healthier options and regulate the marketing and pricing of sugary foods targeted at kids,” Gračner added. “With better information, environment and the right incentives, parents can more easily reduce sugar exposure for their kids and themselves.”