LONDON (dpa-AFX) – According to the research team at the University of Southern California, cutting sugar intake of babies for the first 1,000 days after birth could reduce the risk of chronic diseases like hypertension and diabetes in the future.
‘We all want to improve our health and give our children the best start in life, and reducing added sugar early is a powerful step in that direction. But it’s far from easy. Added sugar is everywhere, even in baby and toddler foods, and children are bombarded with TV ads for sugary snacks,’ Tadeja Gracner, at the University of Southern California in Los Angeles.
For the study, the team analyzed from a natural experiment in the UK when a decade of postwar sugar and sweets rationing ended in 1953. After the rationing period, the consumption of sugar doubled from 40g to 80g per day.
The researchers found 60,000 people who were born between 1951 and 1956 from the UK Biobank, and regularly monitored their health.
The results, published in the journal Science, revealed that limiting sugar intake during the early days of a baby’s life could reduce the risk of developing type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure by 35 percent and 20 percent, respectively.
Also, the data showed a 30 percent reduction in the risk of obesity among the sugar-rationed babies.
‘Exposure to a relatively low-sugar environment in utero and early childhood significantly reduces the diabetes and hypertension risk decades later, as well as delays their onset,’ Gracner concluded.
‘While improving nutritional literacy among parents and caregivers is key, we should also hold companies accountable to reformulate baby foods with healthier options and regulate the marketing and pricing of sugary foods targeted at kids. With better information, environment and the right incentives, parents can more easily reduce sugar exposure for their kids and themselves.’
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