What you eat before age 2 may affect your health 70 years later

A recent study by researchers suggests that the amount of sugar consumed by individuals before their second birthday could have a significant impact on their health decades later, even into their 70s. The study found that those who had less sugar exposure during their first few years of life were less likely to develop several types of cancer later in life and exhibited signs of slower biological ageing.

The findings come from a study conducted on over 64,000 people born in Britain between 1951 and 1956, a time when sugar consumption nearly doubled following the end of postwar rationing in September 1953. The research used data from the UK Biobank, a large health database that followed participants for decades. The results showed that people who experienced longer periods of sugar rationing during their first 1,000 days had lower incidences of breast, prostate, liver, rectal, and lung cancer.

These differences only became apparent decades after the end of sugar rationing. The study also found that early-life sugar exposure continued to affect people's diets in adulthood, with those who experienced early sugar rationing consuming less sugar and having healthier diets overall. The study suggests that the level of sweetness people are exposed to early in life may shape their taste preferences for a long time, with two possible mechanisms at work – biological and behavioral.

The findings indicate that even relatively small differences in sugar exposure during a critical period of development may leave lasting effects on a person's health, bodies, and taste preferences half a century later.