A new study investigated the effect of sugar in a child’s diet, going back to before birth.

The research revealed that consuming less sugar may reduce a child’s risk of diabetes and hypertension. It may also delay the onset of these conditions if they do surface.

The weird catch: the time to reduce sugar starts at conception, based on their findings.

This Study Was Carried Out In An Unusual Way

Ethical considerations in research mean that a project that involved giving toddlers, infants, and fetuses varying amounts of sugar to test which ones get illnesses would be prohibited.

The most common way science examines childhood outcomes is through self-reporting (or reporting by parents, teachers, and other adults in the child’s life.) So, for instance, when we have studies that show the effects of screen time on kids’ mental health, that data was typically gathered by asking kids and parents about screen time and mental health during wellness checks.

Self-reporting for sugar intake could be complicated since most people don’t realize how much sugar they consume. Instead, this study examined data from the UK’s 1950s sugar rationing in order to draw conclusions about typical consumption.

The Conclusions Pointed To Significant Effects Of Prenatal Sugar Intake

By comparing data for generations born over the period of time that sugar rationing was carried out, researchers were able to draw conclusions about the amount of sugar intake individuals would have based on their birthdate.

What they found indicated that higher sugar consumption in the first two years of life had an effect on the prevalence of hypertension and diabetes and when those conditions were present at the age of onset.

However, they also found that pre-birth sugar intake mattered — that is, the amount of sugar the fetus received through his mother’s diet. They concluded:

“Using an event study design with UK Biobank data comparing adults conceived just before or after rationing ended, we found that early-life rationing reduced diabetes and hypertension risk by about 35% and 20%, respectively, and delayed disease onset by 4 and 2 years. Protection was evident with in-utero exposure and increased with postnatal sugar restriction, especially after six months when solid foods likely began. In-utero sugar rationing alone accounted for about one third of the risk reduction.”

Ultimately, the researchers concluded that the first 1,000 days of existence, from conception until about two years old, are key.

Our Babies Get A Lot Of Sugar In Their Diets

The CDC recommends no added sugars (that is, sugars other than those naturally occurring in fruits, vegetables, and milk) for children under two years of age and limiting the added sugar intake to about 10% of total daily calories for adults and children older than two.

For an adult consuming 2,000 calories daily, a maximum of 200 calories from added sugar, which the CDC explains equals about 12 teaspoons. Yet, as of 2018, they found that the average intake of added sugar for adults and children over age 2 was about 17 teaspoons per day — about 142% of that recommended adult limit.

According to CNN, as of 2020, infants consumed an average of one teaspoon of added sugar per day, and by toddler age, around six teaspoons of added sugar daily.

Remember, the guidelines call for no added sugar at all at these ages.

Where Is All This Sugar Babies Eat Coming From?

Your baby may be getting sugar from sources that are not so obvious.

For instance, when you allow baby a taste of icing from your cupcake or catch grandma sneaking him a taste of her tea, you know there’s sugar involved but may write it off since it’s a rare treat and a tiny bit.

However, many jarred baby foods add sugar, so you could scoop those teaspoons full into your infant without knowing it! Many baby formulas also have added sugar and comprise about 2/3 of an infant’s total sugar intake, a 2021 study found, as researchers examined the effect on infant weight gain. (And yes, the additional calories from added sugar do result in increased weight gain.)

However, one significant source of this extra sugar is sodas and other sweetened beverages, including juice drinks that parents may grab without realizing they’re not pure juice but have added sugar and other ingredients.

Cutting Sugar In Utero & For Two Years After

Pregnancy might be the most challenging time for cutting sugar. I don’t think anybody wants to be the one prying the Oreos out of the hands of a pregnant woman who has spent her entire day at work dreaming of being able to go home and eat a stack of them.

It’s important to know that reducing sugar does not mean eliminating it entirely. Your infant and toddler should have no extra sugar, but the pregnant mother can decide the best amount to cut from her diet and where, whether that means choosing healthier snacks or trading the sodas for juice or water.

Once our kids are born, we may need to be more vigilant about added sugars in baby formula, jarred foods, and especially juice drinks.

While this study is far from the first to warn us that excess sugar can have negative effects, its unusual conduct gives a rare glimpse of what effects may be attributable to sugar intake in utero—and that means it may play a role in helping shape new guidelines for what we consume during pregnancy.