Mum, why you shouldn’t give sugar to your toddler

Don’t give toddlers too much sugar—they’ll thank you when they grow up.

Restricting the amount of sugar in the diet in the first two years or more of life reduces the risk of chronic health problems as an adult.  In fact, it starts from the moment of conception: pregnant women should also look to reduce their sugar intake.

People who consumed less sugar in their first 1,000 days—just under three years—were 35 percent less likely to develop type 2 diabetes when they were adults, and had a 20 percent lower risk of hypertension, or high blood pressure.

Researchers from the University of Southern California analysed the health outcomes of people in the UK who experienced sugar rationing during the Second World War.  By 1942, people were rationed to just eight teaspoons (40 grams) of sugar a day, but consumption doubled when rationing ended in 1953.

Tying this in with data collected 50 years later by the UK Biobank survey, the researchers were able to track the health of those born during the years of rationing and compared them to those born after its end.  Restricting sugar in the early years reduced the risk of type 2 diabetes and hypertension, but even those who went on to develop either condition usually did so two to four years later than those born after rationing had ended.

Despite rationing, Britons were eating a healthy diet during wartime and its aftermath, and it was in line with today’s recommendations of restricting sugar and consuming more vegetables.

Eating sugar early in life is the ‘new tobacco’, said Paul Gertler, one of the researchers.  “We should treat it as such by holding food companies accountable to reformulate baby foods with healthier options and regulate the marketing and tax sugary foods targeted at kids.”

What do you think? Start a conversation over on the... WDDTY Community