New research indicates that reducing sugar intake during the earliest stages of life is associated with a lower risk of dementia, a later onset of the disease, and improved markers of brain health in later life. According to study author Jiazhen Zheng of The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Guangzhou, China, limiting sugar during these critical early periods may provide lasting benefits for brain health, highlighting the importance of early-life nutrition in reducing dementia risk decades later.
To reach these findings, researchers examined data from nearly 65,000 individuals born before and after World War II, a period when the British government implemented sugar rationing across the United Kingdom. These restrictions concluded in 1953, after which average daily sugar consumption for the population nearly doubled, rising from approximately 41g to 80g.
The study participants were categorized based on their exposure to these rationing policies: those exposed before birth and during their first year of life, those exposed before birth and up to the age of two, and those born after the rationing had ended. Researchers tracked dementia diagnoses over a 15-year period, starting when the participants were approximately 55 years old.
The data revealed that individuals exposed to sugar rationing before birth and during their first year of life had a 21% lower risk of dementia compared to those born after the rationing ended. For participants exposed to rationing before birth and up to the age of two, the risk of dementia was 23% lower. Furthermore, among those who did develop the disease, individuals who had been exposed to lower sugar levels early in life were diagnosed an average of 2.6 years later than those who were not.
The researchers concluded that sugar restriction during the first 1,000 days of life is associated with lower dementia hazards, delayed onset, and more favorable brain-health profiles. Zheng noted that limiting added sugars during pregnancy and infancy may be a beneficial step for families and communities, though he emphasized that further research is required to fully understand the mechanisms by which early-life sugar exposure influences long-term dementia risk.
Using medical records from the time participants were around 55 years old, the researchers tracked dementia diagnoses over the following 15 years.
People exposed to sugar rationing before birth and during their first year of life had a 21% lower risk of dementia than those born after sugar rationing ended. Those exposed to rationing before birth and up to the age of two had a 23% lower risk of dementia.
