Suche
Mein Konto
The risk of diabetes increases in adults who had a sweet tooth as children
A new study shows that a high-sugar diet in childhood increases the risk of diabetes and high blood pressure later in life.
The risk of diabetes increases in adults who had a sweet tooth as children
It's hard to believe: a diet high in sugar in the first two years of life is linked to one higher risk of diabetes and high blood pressure decades later. This comes from an analysis of the sugar shortage in the United Kingdom in the 1950s.
The amount of sugar a child consumed after six months of age had the greatest impact on their later risk of developing a chronic disease. But even in people who were exposed to more sugar in the womb, the risk for diabetes and high blood pressure higher compared to those conceived at the time of sugar restriction.
Economist Tadeja Gračner was pregnant with her first child and had to stay in bed on medical advice when she and her colleagues came to these results, which were published October 31 in the journal Science 1. "I was like, 'No, no, no. This is the last thing I need,'" she says. “I was probably eating a chocolate bar at the time.”
However, the results do not mean that pregnant women and parents of young children need to completely eliminate sugar from their own or their children's diets, explains Gračner, who works at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles. However, it might make sense to reduce your intake: In the US, pregnant and breastfeeding women typically consume more than three times the recommended amount of added sugar. “It’s about moderation,” says Gračner.
The long-term consequences of childhood nutrition
The UK study is not the first to link early life diet to the risk of disease later in life. Previous research has shown that Hunger in the womb can double the risk of diabetes later in life.
But data from tragedies such as famines and wars are often difficult to interpret, says Valentina Duque, an economist at American University in Washington DC. “Often such major historical shocks affect many different aspects,” she explains. “It’s hard to say exactly how much of it is related to diet, stress, or changes in income or household dynamics.”
The sugar shortage in the UK provided an opportunity to examine more closely the influence of diet on later life. The economic difficulties of World War II forced the government to introduce food rations, and restrictions on sugar were not lifted until 1953, years after the end of the war. By this time, most other nutritional aspects had returned to normal levels to meet daily recommendations.
Gračner had the idea for the project years ago when she came across an article about lifting the sugar shortage and saw pictures of children storming bakeries in droves when restrictions ended.
When Gračner founded her own research group and developed a proposal with her colleagues to investigate this event, another tool was available: the UK Biobank, a repository of genetic and medical data from half a million participants. After confirming that sugar intake increased dramatically after the rations were lifted, the team searched the biobank for individuals conceived between October 1951 and June 1954, when the rations were in effect. They then compared the health of these individuals with the health of individuals conceived between July 1954 and March 1956, after the rations were lifted.
Undeniable impact
The researchers found that people conceived during sugar restrictions had a 35% lower risk of diabetes and a 20% lower risk of high blood pressure than people conceived after rationing.
The size of this effect is surprisingly large, says Duque. “It’s undeniable,” she emphasizes. “The big change here is related to sugar.” Duque believes the findings should help increase education among pregnant women about the importance of good nutrition.
Gračner agrees that education is crucial, but doesn't want concerned parents to overreact. “Pregnant women already have so much to worry about,” she says. “If you consume a little sugar here and there, everything will be fine.”
-
Gracner, T., Boone, C. & Gertler, P.J. Science https://doi.org/10.1126/science.adn5421 (2024).