What you ate before the age of 2 can have consequences for your health 70 years later, according to a study

By analyzing the health of 64,000 Britons born between 1951 and 1956, a period during which the amount of sugar in food increased considerably, scientists found that diet during childhood can influence health decades later.

Good eating habits should be established from birth. What you ate before the age of 2 can have consequences for your health decades later, researchers have established in a study published in Science Daily on Wednesday, August 26.

People who are used to eating healthily from a young age, with a diet low in sugar, are less likely to develop cancer, according to this study.

To carry out their research, the scientists were unable to practice on actual infants. "It was impossible to divide them into two groups, give sugar to one group, and wait 70 years to see what happens," explained one of the participants.

the organism develops quickly

They therefore opted for a more historical approach. They went back to the period immediately following the Second World War in the United Kingdom. At that time, sugar was still rationed in the country, and this continued until 1953. When rationing ended, the British began to incorporate more and more sugar into their diets. The younger generation was the target of these new consumption patterns.

For their research, the scientists from Science Daily relied on the health status of 64,000 Britons born between 1951 and 1956. They then found that people who had experienced longer periods of rationing had a lower incidence of developing five types of cancer: breast, prostate, liver, rectal and lung cancers.

Specifically, the most striking results are those related to liver cancer. The risk of a person born during the sugar rationing period developing this disease is less than 69%. The risk of developing diabetes is also lower.

The body develops very quickly during the first two years of life. It is also during this period that food preferences are established. These preferences can last for several decades.

According to the researchers, people who were used to consuming very little sugar continued not to eat it throughout their lives.