MELBOURNE, Oct. 23 (Xinhua) -- Restricting sugar intake in early childhood may lead to lower risks of heart disease later in life, according to a study led by Australian and international researchers.
The study used the end of Britain's sugar rationing in 1953 as a natural experiment, comparing health data from more than 63,000 UK Biobank participants born just before or after the policy ended, according to a summary of the study on the Australian Science Media Center website on Thursday.
The results showed people exposed to the rationing before birth and during early life also developed heart conditions up to two and a half years later, on average, than those with unrestricted early sugar intake, according to the researchers from Australia's Monash University and China's Hong Kong University of Science and Technology, among others.
"The greatest protection against the risk of developing heart problems, and the longest delay in disease onset, was seen in people whose sugar intake was restricted from conception to around 2 years of age," said the study.
Evidence suggested that the first 1,000 days of life is a period when diet can have lasting health effects, the study said.
Compared with those never exposed to rationing, people whose sugar intake was restricted from conception through age two had a 20 percent lower risk of cardiovascular disease and a 25 percent lower risk of heart attack, along with reduced risks of heart failure, atrial fibrillation, stroke, and cardiovascular death, it showed.
During rationing, sugar allowances were restricted to under 40 grams per day for all, with no added sugar allowed for infants under two, restrictions consistent with modern dietary guidelines, the authors said.
"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 said. ■
