WWII sugar limits linked to lower cancer risk and slower aging

A 1940s UK sugar rationing policy limited sugar intake during the first 1,000 days of life. In a UK Biobank study of 64,761 people born 1951–1956, those exposed to sugar restriction in early life had dramatically lower adult cancer incidence (liver 69% lower; prostate 52%; lung 41%; rectal 40%; breast 36%), longer telomeres equating to about 2.2 years less biological aging, and persisted healthier diets into adulthood. The study, published in PNAS (2026) by Chen Zhu and Weilong Zhang, is observational but uses the rationing cutoff to suggest causal links between early sugar exposure and cancer risk.