The impact of sugar rationing on early life in the UK: A biobank analysis of the first two decades after World War II, and implications for diabetes and high blood pressure

The investigators reported that those exposed to sugar rationing early in life had a 35 percent lower risk of diabetes and a 20 percent lower risk of high blood pressure in middle age. The onset of those chronic diseases was also delayed by four years for diabetes and two years for high blood pressure. They also found that disease protection was greatest for those who had been conceived during sugar rationing and were babies while rationing continued. People who were exposed to sugar rationing at an early age had higher disease rates.

Sugar rationing in the United Kingdom offered an opportunity to take a more detailed look at the impact of nutrition on later life. Economic hardship during the Second World War forced the government to institute food rations, and limits on sugar were not lifted until 1953, years after the war ended. By then, most other aspects of nutrition had normalized to meet standard daily recommendations.

The researchers asked the UK Biobank for assistance in finding out. It contains genetic and medical information on half a million people, and steps have been taken to preserve contributors’ privacy. Sixty thousand people were analysed for health after they were surveyed, and they were ages 51 to 60.

When Tadeja Graner was pregnant with her first child and on bed rest, she and her colleagues first arrived at these conclusions, which are published in Science on October 1. I was not interested in it. This is the last thing I need.’,” she says. I probably ate a chocolate at the time.

The Effect of Additive Sugar on Pregnant Women and Young Children: a Case Study in Los Angeles, Californ, USA

The results do not mean that pregnant people or parents of young children need to eliminate added sugars from their diet, says Graner, who works in Los Angeles. But there could be room for cutting back: in the United States, pregnant and lactating people typically eat more than three times the recommended amount of added sugar. She says it’s all about moderation.

Data from disasters can be difficult to understand according to an economist at American University in Washington DC. “Often, these big, historical shocks affect so many things,” she says. “You don’t know what’s because of nutrition, or stress, or changes in income or household dynamics.”

When she stumbled across an article about the lifting of the sugar rationing in the UK, she came up with the idea for the project.

The effect is large. She says that it is obvious. “The big change here has to do with sugar.” Duque believes the results will help educate pregnant women about the importance of good nutrition.

Gračner agrees that education is crucial but doesn’t want anxious parents to overreact to her findings. She says pregnant people have so much to worry about. “If it’s just a little sugar here and there, everybody’s going to be fine.”