In a 2025 paper, a global team of researchers poured through the medical records of 63,000 people born in the UK between 1951 and 1956 – when sugar rationing was in full force. They found that children who were exposed to less sugar in the womb and for the first 1,000 days of life were 20% less likely to develop cardiovascular disease in later life; 25% less likely to develop heart failure; and 31% less likely to have a stroke than children who were allowed to stuff their mouths with sweets after rationing ended.
It’s probably not a surprise to learn that this strong relationship between sugar intake and health continues after we’re born. Simply put, eating too many sweet sugary snacks is bad for us no matter what age we are.
But with some other foods, the nutritional benefits depend on what stage of your life you happen to be in. Young babies and infants need plenty of the fats present in dairy and whole milk, for example, but such a diet would not be considered so healthy for someone in their 20s and 30s.
According to Federica Amati, a nutritional scientist at Imperial College London in the UK, children’s high energy demands mean they need foods packed with nutrients.
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