Reducing Sugar Intake in Childhood Lowers Dementia Risk in Later Life
A study shows that reducing sugar consumption in early life is linked to a lower risk of dementia, a later onset of the disease, and better brain health in adulthood.
“Limiting sugar in the earliest stages of life may have long-term benefits for brain health,” said study author Jia-Ren Zheng from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. “These findings highlight the potential importance of nutrition in early life for reducing dementia risk decades later.”
Researchers analyzed data from nearly 65,000 individuals born before and after World War II, when sugar rationing was implemented across the UK.
Rationing was lifted in 1953, after which average daily sugar consumption nearly doubled from about 41g to 80g.
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Participants were grouped based on their exposure to sugar rationing: those affected before birth and in the first year of life, and those born after the rationing ended.
Using medical records, researchers tracked dementia diagnoses over the next 15 years.
For individuals exposed to sugar rationing before birth and in the first year of life, the risk of dementia was 21% lower than for those born after the rationing ended. For those living under rationing until the age of two, the risk was 23% lower.
Among those who developed dementia, those less exposed to high sugar intake in early childhood received their diagnosis an average of 2.6 years later.
“Limiting sugar in the first 1,000 days of life was associated with lower dementia risks and more favorable brain health outcomes,” the researchers write, adding that this data supports the idea of reducing sugar intake in early life as a potential strategy for lowering dementia risk.
“Reducing added sugar during pregnancy and infancy may be one of the beneficial measures families and communities can take,” Zheng noted, emphasizing the need for further research to understand how early sugar exposure affects dementia risk.
