A child’s first 1,000 days can influence the rest of their life. A diet low in sugar in utero and in the first two years, i.e. for 1,000 days from conception, considerably reduces the risk of chronic diseases in adulthood.
Published in the journal Science on October 31, the study focuses on the period of sugar rationing introduced in Great Britain from 1942 until September 1953.
According to researchers from the USC Dornsife College of Letters, Arts and Sciences, McGill University in Montreal and the University of California at Berkeley, this rationing helped limit sugar consumption to levels consistent with current guidelines. .
On the other hand, consumption almost doubled after rationing. “The diets actually appeared to be consistent with current guidelines set by the U.S. Department of Agriculture and the World Health Organization, which recommend not adding sugar to children under two years of age and not exceeding 12 teaspoons (50 g) of added sugar per day for adults,” specify the authors in a press release.
A country-wide trial
Thus, children who experienced restrictions during the first 1,000 days after conception had a 35% lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes as adults and up to a 20% lower risk of hypertension in less.
To achieve these results, the researchers analyzed data from the UK Biobank, a large-scale biomedical database, which contains millions of blood, saliva and urine samples as well as medical records, containing the backgrounds and lifestyles of volunteers.
They were thus able to compare the long-term health outcomes (more than 50 years later) of adults conceived in the United Kingdom just before and after the end of sugar rationing.
A boon for scientists since it is rare to be able to study data from a large number of people exposed overnight to two very different food environments.
During rationing, sugar consumption averaged 8 teaspoons or 40 grams of sugar per day. At the end of rationing, sugar consumption jumped to 16 teaspoons, or 80 grams of sugar per day.
“While experiencing the sugar restriction period for the first 1,000 days of life significantly reduced the risk of developing diabetes and hypertension, for those later diagnosed with either these diseases, the onset of disease was delayed by four years and two years, respectively,” underline the authors.
The most significant period seems to be that after birth. In utero exposure alone was enough to reduce risk, but protection against chronic disease increased after birth, after the introduction of solid foods.
Too many added sugars in baby foods
While type 2 diabetes is one of the most widespread chronic diseases in the world, the authors deplore the consumption of added sugars in excessive quantities from early childhood, primarily in baby formula and dedicated foods. to children like certain biscuits and drinks, which are far too rich in sugar.
“Parents need information about what works, and this study provides them with evidence that reducing added sugar consumption early in life is an important step toward improving children’s health throughout life. of their lives”, said Claire Boone, co-author of the study, specialist in health economics at McGill University.
Paul Gertler, co-author and economist at the University of California, Berkeley, adds: “Early sugar is the new tobacco, and we should treat it as such by forcing food companies to reformulate baby foods with healthier options, regulating marketing, and taxing sugary foods aimed at children . »
