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Lower exposure to sugar during the first two years of life may be linked to a reduced risk of several cancers and slower biological ageing decades later, according to a new study.
Researchers examined health data from more than 64,000 people born in Britain between 1951 and 1956, using the country’s postwar sugar rationing as a natural experiment.
Sugar rationing ended in September 1953, after which sugar consumption nearly doubled. As a result, children born only months apart experienced substantially different levels of sugar exposure during pregnancy and their first two years of life.
The researchers focused on the first 1,000 days, from conception to a child’s second birthday, a period when organs, metabolism and the immune system develop rapidly and food preferences begin to form.
The study found that people who spent more of their first 1,000 days under sugar rationing had lower rates of five cancers: breast, prostate, liver, rectal and lung cancer.
The strongest association was found for liver cancer, with rates around 69% lower among those with greater early-life exposure to rationing. Breast cancer rates were about 36% lower.
The differences emerged decades after sugar rationing had ended, suggesting that nutrition during early development may have long-term health implications.
Researchers also found an association between lower early-life sugar exposure and slower biological ageing. Biological age can differ from chronological age, reflecting how quickly a person’s cells and body systems have aged.
The researchers cautioned that the findings show an association rather than proving that sugar exposure directly causes cancer or faster ageing. They said further research is needed to understand how early-life diet may influence health across the lifespan.