Early life sugar restriction lowers risk for heart diseases, study suggests

Restricting sugar consumption early in life lowers the risks for various heart conditions later in adulthood, including heart attack, heart failure, and stroke, according to new research. The study was based on data from the end of UK sugar rationing in 1953. 

People with restricted sugar intake between conception (in utero) to around two years of age (the first 1,000 days of life) saw the greatest protection against these risks, including the longest delay in disease onset.

The study also suggests that the first 1,000 days of life is a period when diet can have lasting health effects. Earlier research on this population with early-life sugar restriction also found a lower chronic disease risk.

“Our results underscore the cardiac benefit of early life policies focused on sugar rationing,” comment the researchers.

“Further studies should investigate individual levels of dietary exposures and consider the interplay between genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors to develop more personalised prevention strategies.”

What the health records say

The authors highlight that during the rationing period, sugar allowances for everyone, including pregnant women and children, were limited to under 40 g per day. No added sugars were permitted for infants under two years old — a restriction that is consistent with modern dietary recommendations.

Looking at data from the end of UK sugar rationing in September 1953, the researchers examined the files of 63,433 UK Biobank participants born between October 1951 and March 1956 with no history of heart disease.

The study included a total of 40,063 participants exposed to sugar rationing and 23,370 who were not.

Rationing sugar in early life delayed the onset of cardiovascular disease by up to two and a half years.These health records revealed the rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD), heart attack, heart failure, irregular heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation), stroke, and cardiovascular death. The researchers adjusted for a range of genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors.

For more reliable comparisons, the researchers also assessed an external control group of non-UK born adults who did not experience sugar rationing or similar policy changes around 1953.

Effects of early sugar restriction

The results published in The BMJ revealed that longer exposure to sugar rationing was linked to “progressively lower cardiovascular risks in adulthood,” partly because of reduced risks of diabetes and high blood pressure.

Compared to people never exposed to sugar rationing, those exposed in utero plus 1–2 years had a 20% reduced risk of CVD, as well as reduced risks of heart attack (25%), heart failure (26%), atrial fibrillation (24%), stroke (31%), and cardiovascular death (27%).

People exposed to rationing in utero and during early life also showed progressively longer delays — up to two and a half years — in the age at which they exhibited cardiovascular disease outcomes, compared to those not exposed to rationing.

These findings imply that sugar rationing is associated with “small yet meaningful increases” in healthy heart function, say the researchers.

Study considerations

The authors note that since it is an observational study, no firm conclusions can be drawn about cause and effect. They acknowledge several limitations, including a lack of detailed individual dietary data and potential recall bias that may have affected these results.

However, they note this large, well-designed study allowed them to separately assess the effects of different exposure periods and explore the potential pathways linking sugar rationing and cardiovascular outcomes.

This year, dietary researchers criticized UK baby food pouches for containing high sugar and having poor nutritional value. They advocate that the majority of fruit-based purees should carry a “high sugar” warning label based on international recommendations, because they are high in free sugars that are released during the pureeing process.