During and after World War II, in the face of severe food shortages in the United Kingdom, candies and sugar were rationed for several years. When rationing ended in 1953, British children raced to the candy shops to load up on sweets, and sugar consumption doubled within a year.
A new study that taps into that before-and-after transition in sugar intake across a large population offers evidence of the potential long-term health benefits of a moderate sugar diet early in life, says Bonnie Jortberg, PhD, RDN, CDCES, a University of Colorado School of Medicine nutrition specialist.
Using the UK Biobank, a nationwide biomedical database, to analyze medical information on more than 60,000 Britons born in the 1950s, researchers found that people exposed to sugar restrictions in the first 1,000 days after conception – while in the womb through their mother’s diet and then in their first two years of childhood – had an average 20% lower risk of hypertension and a 40% lower risk of type 2 diabetes later in life than those born after sugar rationing ended in 1953. Also, the onset of any disease was delayed by an average of two to four years in comparison to the group born after rationing ended.
The research, “Exposure to sugar rationing in the first 1,000 days of life protected against chronic disease,” was published recently in Science.
‘It can really have an impact’
“This is a fascinating study,” says Jortberg, an associate professor in the CU Department of Family Medicine and a registered dietitian whose research interests include obesity and diabetes. Jortberg was not involved in the research.
“To follow people from in utero until they’re 2 years of age and then re-follow them years later is a really difficult thing to do,” Jortberg says. “They could do this because they had a natural occurrence with rationing and because the UK has a national database.”
Jortberg adds that other factors might have been at play, but “this study demonstrates the importance of good nutrition early in life. It can really have an impact.”
She notes that pregnant women are bombarded with warnings not to smoke or drink alcohol. “Those are the biggies that we emphasize,” she says. “I’m not so sure that we also emphasize healthy eating quite as much. A study like this emphasizes how important that is.”
Checking for added sugar
Sugar comes from many places, not just a sugar bowl or a candy bar. Sometimes it’s found naturally in our food, and sometimes it’s added during processing. It’s in fruit and fruit juices, sodas and sports drinks, baby formulas, many processed foods, granola bars, sweet pastries, and flavored yogurt, to name a few dietary sources.
The average child in the U.S. consumes the equivalent of 17 teaspoons (71 grams) of added sugars daily, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says. Jortberg says adults should limit themselves to 10 teaspoons (42 grams) or less of added sugars each day. “That’s about what you’d fine in a can of regular soda or a regular-sized candy bar,” she says.
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When buying or using a food product, she says, it’s a good idea to check the added-sugar content listed on the packaging.
It’s important to note, Jortberg said, that the UK’s postwar sugar rationing program did not ban sugar entirely. In fact, Britons were still able to consume an amount of added sugar that would be considered moderate consumption today. “What we’re striving for is a moderate sugar intake,” she says.
Rampant obesity
Excessive sugar intake can be detrimental to health in several ways, Jortberg says.
“One is that they’re getting empty calories. People with higher sugar intake tend to replace more nutrient-dense foods, like fruits, vegetables, and whole grains, with high-sugar foods. And a high-sugar diet is linked to obesity, and that brings in a whole host of health ramifications – increased risk of type 2 diabetes, hypertension, cardiovascular disease, certain cancers, and so on.”
Obesity is rampant in America, Jortberg says, noting that “about three-quarters of our population is overweight or have obesity – 41%.” The rise of GLP-1 drugs such as Ozempic are helping to moderate obesity rates “a little bit,” she says, but those drugs often are expensive and therefore aren’t accessible to lower-income populations.
“We have a major problem with obesity in this country,” she says. “And even in a state like Colorado, which is the leanest state for adults, we are not the leanest state for kids. We set up our kids for a difficult adulthood when they develop obesity when they’re young.”
For starters, Jortberg advises parents to limit their kids’ servings of fruit juice. “Four to six ounces in the morning is all they need. It’s better for them to drink water.”
Beyond sugar
Jortberg says that children who consume a lot of sugar at an early age will tend to crave sweet foods as they grow up and be at greater risk of obesity. “Some research shows that kids do develop their tastes in their first couple of years of life.”
Not all sugars are created equal, Jortberg says. Foods that contain sugar naturally, such as whole fruit, often have fiber “that can slow down the absorption of that sugar. And you’re getting nutrients if you’re getting sugar from fruit. So, I would say that’s a healthier kind of sugar.”
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On the other hand, there’s little nutritional difference between various kinds of table sugar, or even honey, she says. “Your body doesn’t care. There’s no nutritional benefit.”
As for a balanced diet that’s lower in sugar, Jortberg says the Mediterranean diet provides a good mix of nutrients. “It’s very high in fruits and vegetables, but also includes lean proteins, whole grains, nuts, seeds, your healthier kinds of fats and is very moderate in protein. If you look at very good research, the Mediterranean-type diet is really what most of us should really be striving toward.”
