fullscreen

eFinder

eFinder

Home › Article

Could childhood sugar intake raise the risk of adult anxiety?

EuroNews · 🇫🇷 public France · · 410 words · By Marta Iraola Iribarren
headphones Listen to the eFinder podcast briefing
Generate a natural audio summary of this story
Daily briefing

What to know about Could childhood sugar intake raise the risk of adult anxiety?

Exposure to sugar in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, from conception to around the age of two and a half, increases the risk of developing anxiety in adulthood, according to a new study.

Claims checked 9
Techniques found 0
Topics 0

Coverage spectrum

Coverage gap: Low Left coverage
Left0%
Center100%
Right0%

5 sources compared across this story cluster. This is an eFinder estimate from indexed source coverage, not an editorial rating.

What happened

Exposure to sugar in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, from conception to around the age of two and a half, increases the risk of developing anxiety in adulthood, according to a new study.

Why it matters

Sugar exposure in the first 1,000 days of life, from conception to around the age of two and a half, may leave a lasting mark on mental health, increasing the chances of anxiety years later, according to a new study.

Common ground

Sugar rationing during early childhood was associated with differences in sweet food preferences, psychiatric and mental-health outcomes and structural differences in the brain.

Perspective signals

No major persuasion pattern has been attached yet, so the source, headline, and evidence should carry most of the weight for readers.

open_in_new Read the original article: https://www.euronews.com/2026/09/25/could-childhood-sugar-intake-raise-the-risk-…

fact_checkClaims Checked

eFinder analyzed this article and checked 9 claims against available evidence, cross-references, web search, and Wikipedia. Here is what the fact-checking layer found.

check_circle Corroborated 8
help Insufficient Evidence 1
check_circle
Claim 1: “Their risk of anxiety was 33% lower than that of those never rationed.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent sources explicitly cite the '33% lower' risk of anxiety for the long-rationed group compared to the never-rationed group.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is divided into 33 province-level divisions, including two special administrative regions. Beijing is the capital,…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/China
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The term "the people" refers to the public or common mass of people of a polity. As such it is a concept of human rights law, international law as well as constitutional law, particularly used for cla…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — A people is a coherent social, cultural, or ethnic group. People may also refer to: The plural form of person
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/People_(disambiguation)
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 2: “The median age of anxiety onset was around 62 years in long-rationed groups compared to 55 years in the never-rationed group.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the median age of anxiety onset was around 62 years for long-rationed groups versus 55 years for the never-rationed group.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Rationed groups also developed anxiety and depression later. The median age of anxiety onset was around 62 years in long-rationed groups compared to 55 years in the never-rationed group.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/could-childhood-sugar-intake-raise…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — “What we have found is that rationing of sugar in early life is linked to reduced sweet liking and lower risk of anxiety. Despite increased sugar consumption after rationing amongst participants, earl…
https://www.eurekalert.org/news-releases/1144763
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — By analyzing "Age at Event" data, researchers found that those in the restricted cohorts experienced a significantly later onset of mental health symptoms. For the R1000 group, the median age of anxie…
https://clearmindsecrets.com/how-a-post-war-sugar-shortage-r…
help
Claim 3: “Previous research cited by the authors suggests that sugar-rich diets can reduce the density and availability of serotonin neurons, which are critical for mood regulation and early restriction may protect these pathways.”
INSUFFICIENT EVIDENCE
No evidence was found in the provided search results to confirm the specific claim regarding serotonin neuron density and sugar-rich diets.
check_circle
Claim 4: “The study, published in the journal Translational Psychiatry, compared participants who experienced rationing in utero and then up to six, 12, 18 and 24 months of age, or in utero only, with people who never experienced rationing.”
CORROBORATED
Sources confirm the study was published in 'Translational Psychiatry' and compared groups based on rationing exposure in utero and at various infancy intervals (6, 12, 18, 24 months).
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Julio Licinio is a Brazilian American psychiatrist who is SUNY Distinguished Professor at State University of New York Upstate Medical University in Syracuse, New York. He is simultaneously Matthew Fl…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Julio_Licinio
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Molecular Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed scientific journal published by Nature Publishing Group. It covers research in biological psychiatry.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Molecular_Psychiatry
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Translational Psychiatry is a peer-reviewed medical journal published by Nature Publishing Group. It is a sister journal to the better-known Molecular Psychiatry. While both journals cover the larger …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Translational_Psychiatry
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 5: “Sugar rationing during early childhood was associated with differences in sweet food preferences, psychiatric and mental-health outcomes and structural differences in the brain.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm that early childhood sugar rationing was associated with differences in sweet food preferences, mental health outcomes, and brain structure (gray matter volume).
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sugar rationing during early childhood was associated with differences in sweet food preferences, psychiatric and mental-health outcomes and structural differences in the brain.
https://sg.news.yahoo.com/could-childhood-sugar-intake-raise…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Limiting sugar intake in early childhood was associated with differences in preferences for sweet foods, other psychiatric and mental health outcomes, as well as structural differences in the brain.
https://med.news.am/eng/news/42056/sugar-exposure-during-the…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Sweet-food preference and sugar intake were assessed using questionnaires and Oxford WebQ dietary recalls. Anxiety and depression were identified from linked health records using the International Cla…
https://www.news-medical.net/news/20260823/A-childhood-shape…
check_circle
Claim 6: “Exposure to sugar in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life, from conception to around the age of two and a half, increases the risk of developing anxiety in adulthood, according to a new study.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple independent web sources report that a study from the University of Surrey links sugar exposure in the first 1,000 days of life to an increased risk of adult anxiety.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Fetal alcohol spectrum disorders (FASDs) are a group of conditions that can occur in a person who is exposed to alcohol during gestation. FASDS affects 7.7 out of 1000 people globally, but is highly m…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fetal_alcohol_spectrum_disorde…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Gripe water is a non-prescription product sold in many countries around the world to relieve colic and other gastrointestinal ailments and discomforts of infants. No evidence supports the efficacy of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gripe_water
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The sugar industry subsumes the production, processing and marketing of sugars (mostly sucrose and fructose). In 2017, worldwide production of table sugar amounted to 185 million tonnes. Sugar is use…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_industry
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 7: “Researchers at the University of Surrey analysed the medical data of over 45,000 people born between 1951 and 1956, a period spanning post-war sugar rationing in the United Kingdom and years after restrictions.”
CORROBORATED
Web search results consistently state that University of Surrey researchers analyzed medical data from over 45,000 people born between 1951 and 1956.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Sir Martin Nicholas Sweeting (born 12 March 1951) is the founder and executive chairman of Surrey Satellite Technology Ltd (SSTL). SSTL is a corporate spin-off from the University of Surrey, where Swe…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Martin_Sweeting
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Surrey ( SURR-ee) is a city in British Columbia, Canada. It is located south of the Fraser River on the Canada–United States border. It is a member municipality of the Metro Vancouver regional distric…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Surrey,_British_Columbia
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Tessa Morris-Suzuki (born 29 October 1951 in Caterham, Surrey, England), born Teresa Irene Jessica Morris, is an Australian historian of modern Japan and North Korea. She is a Professor Emerita in th…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tessa_Morris-Suzuki
+ 3 more evidence sources
check_circle
Claim 8: “People exposed to the longest period of rationing reported lower preference for sweet foods and significantly lower risk of anxiety in adulthood.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources report that those with the longest period of rationing had lower preferences for sweet foods and a lower risk of anxiety in adulthood.
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Participants exposed to the longest period of rationing had a 33% lower relative hazard of being diagnosed with anxiety in adulthood compared to the non-rationed group.
https://www.psypost.org/early-life-sugar-restriction-tied-to…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Researchers cannot say exactly why early sugar exposure was linked with later differences in sweet preference and anxiety risk. But one possible explanation is that taste preferences are partly learne…
https://health.yahoo.com/your-body/childrens-health/articles…
travel_explore
web search NEUTRAL — Participants exposed to the longest period of sugar rationing reported a lower preference for sweet foods as adults. MRI brain scans of nearly 6,000 participants also revealed differences in gray matt…
https://www.drugs.com/news/sugar-exposure-early-linked-anxie…
check_circle
Claim 9: “The United Kingdom had war and post-war sugar rationing policies from 1940 until 1953, which restricted intake to roughly 40 grams per day for adults.”
CORROBORATED
Multiple sources confirm the UK had sugar rationing from 1940 to 1953, limiting adult intake to approximately 40 grams per day.
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The 1940 Football League War Cup final was contested by West Ham United and Blackburn Rovers.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1940_Football_League_War_Cup_f…
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — Arthur Neville Chamberlain (; 18 March 1869 – 9 November 1940) was Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from May 1937 to May 1940 and Leader of the Conservative Party from May 1937 to October 1940. He…
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Neville_Chamberlain
menu_book
wikipedia NEUTRAL — The UK singles chart (currently titled the Official Singles Chart, with the upper section more commonly known as the Official UK Top 40) is compiled by the Official Charts Company (OCC), on behalf of …
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/UK_singles_chart
+ 3 more evidence sources
info Disclaimer: This analysis is generated by AI and should be used as a starting point for critical thinking, not as definitive truth. Claims are verified against publicly available sources. Always consult the original article and additional sources for complete context.