Lower Sugar Intake in Infancy Linked to Fewer Adult Heart Attacks: Study

Limiting sugar intake from pregnancy through the first two years of life may significantly lower the risk of serious heart disease decades later, according to a major study published in The BMJ.

Researchers found that people who consumed less sugar in early life were less likely to develop cardiovascular conditions such as heart attack, heart failure, stroke, and irregular heart rhythm in adulthood.

Health experts have long emphasized that the first 1,000 days of life—from conception to around age two—represent a critical window during which nutrition can shape long-term health. Current guidelines recommend avoiding sugary drinks and limiting ultra-processed foods during infancy and early childhood.

The study analyzed data from 63,433 participants in the UK Biobank, with an average age of 55. Participants were born between October 1951 and March 1956 and had no prior history of heart disease. Among them, 40,063 individuals were exposed to sugar rationing during early life, while 23,370 were not.

The results showed that longer exposure to sugar rationing in early life was linked to steadily lower cardiovascular risk in adulthood. Individuals exposed to sugar restriction in utero and through the first one to two years of life had a 20% lower overall risk of CVD compared to those never exposed. They also experienced a 25% lower risk of heart attack, 26% lower risk of heart failure, 24% lower risk of atrial fibrillation, 31% lower risk of stroke, and 27% lower risk of cardiovascular death. In addition, the onset of heart disease was delayed by up to two and a half years among those exposed to early sugar limits.

Part of the protective effect appeared to be linked to lower rates of diabetes and high blood pressure in adulthood. Researchers also observed modest improvements in measures of heart function among those who experienced rationing early in life.

Because the study was observational, it cannot prove that reduced sugar intake directly caused better heart outcomes.

Overall, the findings suggest that limiting sugar intake during pregnancy and early childhood may have lasting cardiovascular benefits.

REFERENCE: Jiazhen Zheng, Zhen Zhou, Jinghan Huang, Qiang Tu, Haisheng Wu, Quan Yang, Peng Qiu, Wenbo Huang, Junchun Shen, Chuang Yang, Gregory Y H Lip. Exposure to sugar rationing in first 1000 days after conception and long term cardiovascular outcomes: natural experiment study. BMJ, 2025; 391: e083890 DOI: 10.1136/bmj-2024-083890