The record
Written from the 1 report below. Nothing here is unsourced.
- A new study analyzed data from Britain's post-World War II sugar rationing, which ended in September 1953 and roughly doubled average daily sugar intake overnight.
- Researchers from Hong Kong University of Science and Technology examined nearly 65,000 people in the UK Biobank project and found that those who were infants during rationing had a 23% lower risk of dementia, suggesting limiting sugar in the first two years of life may protect long-term brain health.
- Experts caution the evidence is only observational — individual sugar intake was not measured, and the findings may not apply to today's children — so a healthy, balanced diet remains the best-supported advice.
What to watch next
- Further research the study's authors say is needed to confirm whether sugar itself drives the effect
- Whether future studies address the study's limitation of not knowing each participant's actual sugar intake
- Expert comments that findings' relevance to today's infants is limited by differences such as breastfeeding practices in the 1940s-50s
Coverage1
1 report
Indian-language1
All filed from India
Named United Kingdom · Hong Kong SAR China · Neurology · UK Biobank · Alzheimer's Research UK · Aston University · Cochrane · Hong Kong University of Science and Technology · Ian Maidment · James Gallagher · Jia Chen Zeng · Rachel Richardson · Sarah Rodgers
The 1 report is listed beside the record.
Ask this story
Answers cite the reports above, or say they can't.