A study [1] published in the journal Science last week examines the impact of sugar exposure in the first 1,000 days after conception on obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure later in life. The period examined in the study—the first 1,000 days after conception—stretches from the day the child is conceived to about 2 years and 3 months of age. The study looked at health data from the UK Biobank, comparing a period after World War II, when sugar was rationed, to a period after September 1953, when sugar stopped being rationed and its consumption doubled. Researchers analyzed data from 60,183 people born between 1951 and 1956.
The results show that early life rationing of sugar reduced obesity risk later in life by 30 percent. The same early life sugar rationing reduced Type 2 diabetes risk by 35 percent and high blood pressure risk by 20 percent in adulthood. In utero sugar rationing alone accounted for about one-third of the risk reduction, and that protection increased when sugar rationing was still in effect six months after birth when solid food was introduced.
It’s also interesting to note that those children who had sugar rationing while in the uterus and in early life seemed to have much less lifelong preferences for sweets.
What lessons can we take from this study?
If we want our kids to live a long, healthy life and not be addicted to sugar, let’s feed them the right foods without added sugar not only after they are born but also before they are born. The right care for our children starts the day they are conceived.
Mothers, if you are pregnant, make sure you eat a balanced diet while staying away from cookies, cakes, donuts, sweetened beverages, and sweets in general. If you eat processed foods, read all the ingredients before you buy the product. If you see on the list of ingredients high fructose corn syrup, brown sugar, glucose, or any other added sugar or syrup, don’t buy the product. If you are craving a dessert, choose a fruit and teach your kids to do the same.
The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention [2] warns us that many children ages 1 to 5 are not eating fruits and vegetables daily, but they are regularly consuming sugar-sweetened beverages. Let’s change that.
Let’s decrease the amount of added sugar our kids consume starting at conception, and let’s all eat fruits for dessert every day to protect ourselves and our children from obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure.
