New study emphasizes importance of cutting sugar in pregnancy for baby's health
Lower sugar intake before age 2 may help prevent diabetes, researchers found.
Eating little to no sugar in the first 1,000 days of a baby's life -- from conception to age 2 -- can help protect them against health risks later on in life, according to a new study.
The study, published Thursday in the journal Science, found that avoiding sugar early in life reduced the risk of Type 2 diabetes by 35% and high blood pressure by 20%, while also delaying the onset of those diseases by four and two years, respectively.
The most important time to limit sugar intake was found to be during pregnancy and after the infant is six months of age, when solid foods are typically introduced, according to the study, led by researchers at the University of Southern California.
For the study, researchers looked at the health records of more than 60,000 people in the United Kingdom, nearly half of whom lived under the country's sugar rationing period during World War II. Following the war, when rationing ended, consumption of sugar in the U.K. "nearly doubled," according to the study.
The study found those exposed to less sugar early in life were found to have better health outcomes later in life.
In the United States, dietary guidelines currently recommend that Americans ages 2 and older limit their intake of added sugars to less than 10% of their daily calories, or about four tablespoons for someone consuming a 2,000-calorie diet.
Children under the age of 2 are advised to consume no added sugars at all in their diet.
The average American, including children, consumes around 17 teaspoons of added sugars a day, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Consuming too many added sugars can lead to health problems like obesity, Type 2 diabetes and heart disease, according to the CDC.
Type 2 diabetes is a chronic disease that develops when the body doesn't use insulin properly, resulting in high blood sugar levels. If not managed, the disease can lead to health complications including heart disease and stroke, kidney disease, nerve damage, eye disease, foot problems and more, according to the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.
About 1 in 10 people in the U.S. have Type 2 diabetes, and more children, teens and young adults are developing the disease than in the past, according to the CDC.
Dr. Mrunal Koche is an emergency medicine physician at Wyckoff Heights Medical Center and a member of the ABC New Medical Unit
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