The University of California (UC) study of rationing during the Second World War found children who were in the womb or born during times of sugar restrictions during their first 1,000 days after conception had up to 35% lower risk of developing Type 2 diabetes and as much as 20% less risk of high blood pressure as adults.

‘Studying the long-term effects of added sugar on health is challenging,' said author Tadeja Gracner, senior economist at the USC Dornsife Center for Economic and Social Research.

‘It is hard to find situations where people are randomly exposed to different nutritional environments early in life and follow them for 50 to 60 years. The end of rationing provided us with a novel natural experiment to overcome these problems.'

The study found exposure to limited sugar before birth was enough to lower risks, but continued sugar restriction after birth increased the benefits.

Co-author Paul Gertler of UC Berkeley and the National Bureau of Economics Research, said: ‘Sugar early in life is the new tobacco, and we should treat it as such by holding food companies accountable to reformulate baby foods with healthier options and regulate the marketing and tax sugary foods targeted at kids.'