Giving babies less sugar could cut dementia risk, study finds
Researchers found 27% lower dementia risk and 46% lower Alzheimer’s risk among 60,394 UK Biobank participants exposed to sugar rationing early in life.
- A study published in Neurology on July 29, 2026, found that individuals exposed to sugar rationing in utero and during their first two years of life faced a 23% lower risk of developing dementia later in life.
- During and after World War II, the United Kingdom strictly rationed sugar, ending in 1953, which created a natural experiment allowing researchers to compare health outcomes of those raised under rationing versus those born after sugar became widely available.
- Analysis of 64,737 participants showed those rationed up to one year old had a 21% lower dementia risk, while those rationed through two years saw a 23% reduction; MRI scans revealed larger subcortical brain volumes in rationed participants.
- Senior author Bing Zhang of Guangzhou Medical University attributed the protective effect to "metabolic programming during the first 1,000 days," suggesting that limiting added sugar during pregnancy and infancy may benefit long-term brain health.
- Researchers cautioned that this observational study cannot prove direct causation and relied on historical events rather than prospective data. Further research is needed to understand how early sugar exposure influences dementia risk and guide public health strategies.
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Limiting Sugar Until Age Two Linked to Lower Dementia Risk
A new study has found that lower sugar intake during the first two years of life may reduce the risk of dementia decades later. Although the findings, published in the Neurology journal, do not establish a causal relationship, they add to growing evidence that a healthy diet early in life can have a significant impact on long-term health. “Our findings suggest that limiting sugar during the earliest stages of life may have lasting benefits for …
Less sugar for babies, already in utero, before birth, and then during the first one or two years of life could reduce the risk of developing dementia in adulthood. (ANSA)
Lower sugar intake early in life is good for long-term brain health, researchers say, but note that more testing is needed.
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