Is it true kids who eat less sugar in childhood reap the health benefits later in life? Yes, as an ingenious study of British children conceived and born while there was strict sugar rationing during World War II, and growing up during its aftermath makes clear. Adults who grew up while sugar rationing was in effect in Britain during and immediately after the war were less likely to develop high blood pressure and diabetes later in their lives.

The forced drop in sugar consumption offered researchers a unique chance to take a look at the effects of limiting sugar.

As soon as the rationing ended in September 1953, the average sugar intake in the UK doubled.

To take advantage of this novel set of circumstances, the researchers turned to the UK Biobank which holds the genetic and medical information on half a million people.

They looked at a set of over 60,000 people born from October 1951 through March 1956 whose data were contained in the Biobank. Those surveyed for the study were between the ages of 51 to 60 at the time they were asked about their health.

When researchers Tadeja Gracner, an economist at the University of Southern California, and her colleagues Claire Boone of McGill University and Paul J. Gertler of the University of California, Berkeley, compared the health of people who had grown up under sugar rationing with people not exposed to sugar rationing, they found those who had experienced sugar rationing early in life enjoyed a number of health benefits:

  • A 35 percent lower risk of diabetes, and 20 percent lower risk of high blood pressure in middle age.
  • The onset of diabetes and high blood pressure were delayed by four years and two years respectively.

They also noted that:

  • Disease protection was greatest for those who had been conceived during sugar rations and were babies while the rationing continued.
  • People who were exposed to sugar rationing only before birth, and then grew up with higher sugar intake had higher disease rates.

Other foods as well as sugar were rationed in the UK during and after World War II, such as butter and cereal, but consumption didn't change that much once the rationing ended. Not so for sugar. “There was a huge demand for sugar,” Gracner said a press release. As soon as the rationing ended in September 1953, the average sugar intake in the UK doubled.

The study offered a clear picture of the health benefits of a diet with reduced sugar, though the data did not yield information on why sugar rationing early in life had such profound effects years later. It may be, Gracner suggests, that early exposure to sugar leads to a lifelong craving for it. She pointed out that sugar also ages you, adding, “Chronic diseases do take time to develop.”

Eating lots of sugar can also contribute to weight gain and obesity, other forms of heart disease, kidney disease, non-alcoholic liver disease, tooth decay and gout, a type of inflammatory arthritis.

The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics offers the following ways to help limit the amount of sugar we consume:

  • Scan ingredient lists and Nutrition Facts labels while in the grocery aisle and, when possible, choose options that don't use added sugars.
  • Use naturally sweet fruits and vegetables in baking and cooking such as bananas, sweet potatoes and apples.
  • Choose plain water and milk most often for children older than 12 months. Add fruit and fresh herbs, like lemon slices or mint leaves, to water for extra flavor.
  • You can reduce added sugars at home by cooking from scratch. When you make your own granola, pasta sauce and condiments and serve homemade baked treats, you are in control of the ingredients used and their amounts.

The study is published in Science.