This eating habit in your child's first two years is linked to dementia decades later, according to a landmark study

['Lucy Ransley', 'About The Author', 'Lucy Is Mum To Three Children. She Worked As A Secondary School Teacher In Both The Private', 'State Sector For Twenty Years', 'Is Now Retraining As A Journalist. She Is Currently Completing A Ma In Journalism At The University Of Portsmouth. Lucy Writes A Regular Column For Adoption Uk', 'Has Also Written For Schools Week', 'The Argus.', 'The Author'] Netmums 2026-07-30 17:00:46

📊 Exposure to sugar rationing before age two linked to a 23% lower dementia risk, but not proven as a direct cause. 🗓️ In September 1953, sugar rationing ended in Britain, impacting children's sugar intake and later dementia risk, as studied by Hong Kong University. A study reported by the BBC found that people exposed to sugar rationing before birth and until they were two had a 23% lower risk of developing dementia decades later. The study, published in the journal Neurology, used the end of post-war sugar rationing in Britain as a natural experiment. Researchers from the Hong Kong University of Science and Technology analysed health data from 64,737 UK Biobank participants born around this period.