- Early childhood sugar restriction linked to lower adult cardiovascular disease risk
- Study of 63,433 UK Biobank participants showed reduced heart attack, stroke, and death rates
- Greatest benefit seen in those with sugar rationing from conception to age two years
Sugar is known to impact your health in several ways. From chronic inflammation to fatty liver disease, sugar is the cause of chronic illnesses. Hence, it is important that you limit sugar consumption. A recent study published in The BMJ found that people who consumed less sugar in early childhood had lower risk of developing heart diseases as an adult. This included cardiovascular disease, myocardial infarction, heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, and cardiovascular disease mortality. The study was conducted based on data from the end of sugar rationing in the United Kingdom in 1953.
Sugar Rationing In The UK
Sugar rationing in the UK was stopped in September 1953. This gave researchers the opportunity to explore whether limiting sugar during the early days affects future heart health. This also gave them a natural comparison point between children born before and after that policy change.
During the rationing period, sugar allowances for the entire population, including pregnant women and children, were capped at less than 40 g per day and infants under age 2 were not allowed any added sugars. These limits align closely with today's dietary recommendations for young children.
The analysis had 63,433 participants from the UK Biobank, who had an average age of 55 years. These participants were born between October 1951 and March 1956, with no history of heart disease. The researchers found that 40,063 people were exposed to sugar rationing early in life, while 23,370 were not.
The team linked the health record of participants to analyse the rates of cardiovascular disease (CVD), heart attack, heart failure, irregular heart rhythm (atrial fibrillation), stroke, and death from cardiovascular causes. It also included genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors that could influence heart health. The study also included an additional comparison group which included adults who were born outside the UK and did not experience sugar rationing or similar policy shifts around 1953.
Study Findings
Longer exposure to sugar rationing was linked to lower risk of cardiovascular disease in adulthood. Researchers say that this happened due to lower rates of diabetes and high blood pressure among those exposed to rationing early in life. The strongest benefit was seen in the delay in the onset of heart disease among people whose sugar intake was restricted from conception ("in utero") through about age 2. Doctors and health experts, for long, have suggested that the first 1000 days of life (from conception to around 2 years of age) have a significant impact on long term health, in terms of nutrition.
The researchers said, "Exposure to sugar rationing during the first 1000 days of life was associated with lower cardiovascular risks in adulthood and slightly more favourable cardiac indices, suggesting long term cardiovascular benefits of early life sugar restriction."
Sugar Rationing And Its Impact On The Heart
When the rationing people were compared to those who were never exposed to rationing in utero plus 1-2 years, the researchers found that the latter group had a 20% lower risk of CVD overall. They also had reduced risks of heart attack (25%), heart failure (26%), atrial fibrillation (24%), stroke (31%), and cardiovascular death (27%).
The researchers also said that these individuals tended to develop heart problems later. The team also observed modest but meaningful improvements in measures of healthy heart function among individuals who experienced rationing.
The researchers say that since this was an observational study, it cannot prove that lower sugar intake directly caused better heart outcomes. The researchers note several limitations, including the lack of detailed individual dietary records and the possibility of recall bias.
Even so, they emphasize that the large scale and careful design of the study allowed them to compare different periods of exposure and examine potential pathways connecting early sugar intake with later cardiovascular health.
"Our results underscore the cardiac benefit of early life policies focused on sugar rationing. Further studies should investigate individual level dietary exposures and consider the interplay between genetic, environmental, and lifestyle factors to develop more personalized prevention strategies," they added.
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