War-era sugar rationing improved the health of Brits born in the 1940s

Sugar rationing during and after World War II appears to have improved the health of pregnant people in Britain at the time, reducing their risk of developing type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure decades later. This suggests that reducing sugar intake early in life may improve health outcomes in adulthood.

Exposure to high-sugar foods in utero has been previously reported. Associated with increased risk of obesityis known to increase the risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure. However, it is unclear whether this is a causal relationship, and investigating such questions has been hampered because it is difficult and even unethical for researchers to force people to eat a certain diet. .

But the same is not true of wartime governments. Tadeja Gluckner The researchers at the University of Southern California decided to use a situation similar to the natural food experiments during World War II. In January 1940, a few months into the war, the British government began rationing food. This included limiting sugar intake for adults to about 40 grams per day. More than a decade later, in September 1953, rationing ended and people rapidly nearly doubled their sugar consumption.

Gluckner’s team analyzed the health records of more than 38,000 people studied as part of the UK Biobank project between 2006 and 2019. They were all between 51 and 66 years old at the time of the study, and had become pregnant within a few years before the end of rationing, meaning they were exposed to limited sugar intake in utero and during childhood. The researchers also looked at the same data from 22,000 people who became pregnant about a year after rationing ended. The two groups had a similar composition in terms of gender and ethnicity, and a similar family history of diabetes, allowing us to compare them.

In both groups combined, more than 3,900 people were diagnosed with diabetes and 19,600 with hypertension, but the prevalence of both conditions was much lower among those who became pregnant during the rationing period. Members of this group were 35 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes by their mid-60s, and those who did develop it did so on average four years later than those who became pregnant after rationing ended. As for high blood pressure, people in the rationing group were 20 percent less likely to develop hypertension by their mid-60s, again delaying onset by two years on average.

Importantly, while rationing led to many changes in the diets of people in Britain, cutting sugar appears to have made the biggest difference. Despite changes in food availability, the average diet during the rationing period contained similar levels of fat and other types of foods such as meat, dairy, cereals, and fruit as after the rationing. I did. One explanation, Gluckner said, is that increased exposure to sugar during childhood may predispose people to sweet foods throughout their lives. It may also lead to epigenetic changes That can lead to poor blood sugar control and an increased risk of type 2 diabetes and high blood pressure, she says.

Alternatively, lower calorie consumption in general as a result of lower sugar intake may explain the improved health of those who became pregnant during the rationing period, they said. scott montgomery Sweden’s Orebro University found that, rather than reducing sugar intake per se, people ate about 100 fewer calories per day during the rationing period, and those who became pregnant during the rationing period were more likely to become pregnant than those who became pregnant afterwards. They had a 30 percent lower risk of becoming obese, suggesting this calorie reduction played a role. “It may not necessarily be due to exposure to high blood sugar; it may be due to other causes,” Montgomery says.

In any case, UK recommended dietary guidelines for sugar intake The amount consumed today is similar to the amount eaten during the rationing period, but the actual amount consumed is much higher. Montgomery said the results show there are clear benefits to the cuts. “People should reduce their sugar intake to recommended levels.”