Cutting sugar as a toddler ‘slashes their dementia risk by a fifth’ decades later

LIMITING sugar before the age of two may protect the brain decades later and lower dementia risk, research suggests. Scientists, who tracked 65,000 Brits born in the 1940s and 50s during the Second World War sugar rationing, slashed their risk of adult dementia by a fifth, compared with those who were born after rationing ended. Reduced sugar intake not only cut risk of dementia overall but delayed the onset of dementia Credit: Getty For people who experienced multiple falls, the risk increased to 74 per cent Reduced sugar intake not only cut their risk of dementia overall, but delayed the onset of dementia for those who did eventually suffer it by an average of 2.6 years. The benefits were enjoyed by babies taking in less sugar as well as those exposed to less sugar while their mothers were pregnant, the study also found. Sign up for the Health newsletter Thank you! This means the findings could shed light on how sugar affects metabolic processes or how babies absorb nutrients. It comes as previous studies on the same group found that they were less likely to suffer conditions including heart attacks, heart failure and strokes if they had little sugar in early childhood and if their mothers had little sugar in pregnancy. Dr Jiazhen Zheng, an expert at the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology in Guangzhou, China and study co-author, said: “Our findings suggest that limiting sugar during the earliest stages of life may have lasting benefits for brain health. “These results highlight the potential importance of early-life nutrition in reducing the risk of dementia decades later.” Wartime food rationing began in Britain in January 1940, when bacon, butter and sugar were restricted. By the end of the war, the ration for sugar was 8oz (227g) per person per week. Most read in Health In all, sugar rationing lasted more than 13 years, and was only lifted in September 1953. In the latest research, published in the journal Neurology, experts looked at 64,737 people who were born before and after sugar rationing in the UK. Researchers used medical records to determine which of the people in the study were diagnosed with dementia between the ages of 55 and 70. Of 15,025 who experienced sugar rationing before birth and during their first year of life, 388 developed dementia. Meanwhile, of the 15,256 who experienced sugar rationing before birth and during their first two years of life, 456 developed dementia. And of 23,774 born after sugar rationing, 504 developed dementia. The researchers calculated that people who experienced sugar rationing before birth and up to age one had a 21 per cent lower risk of dementia compared with people born after sugar rationing. If sugar was restricted up to the age of two, the drop was bigger at 23 per cent. The final percentage of harm reduction was calculated after accounting for factors such as gender, socioeconomic status, age, high blood pressure and diabetes. Some participants also had brain scans. People who consumed less sugar in early life had higher total grey matter volume and lower levels of white matter “hyperintensities”, a marker of brain tissue damage, the scientists said. Mr Zheng added: “Limiting added sugars during pregnancy and infancy may be one beneficial step that families and communities can take, but further research is needed to better understand how these early exposures influence dementia risk and to guide public health strategies.” Dr Sara Rodrigues, senior research manager at Alzheimer’s Research UK, also said: “Research like this helps us better understand how dementia risk develops across our lifetime and could help shape future approaches to protecting brain health. “However, it’s important to remember that this was an observational study. “This means it can identify links between diet and dementia risk, but it cannot prove that eating less sugar directly prevents dementia. “More research is needed to better understand the potential relationship between sugar intake and the development of dementia. “Eating a healthy, balanced diet is one of the best ways to support your brain health and it’s never too late to make positive changes.” Around 944,000 in the UK are thought to be living with dementia, while the figure is thought to be around 7million in the US. Memory problems, thinking and reasoning difficulties and language problems are common early symptoms of the condition, which then worsen over time. Comment now