Toddlers who eat sugar could be at greater risk of developing dementia in later life, a study has suggested. Pregnant women who avoid sweets, chocolates and other sugary foods can also help slash their child's risk of the memory robbing disease by 20 per cent. The study – published in the journal Neurology – also found that eating very little sugar in early life could offer some protection against the disease.'Our findings suggests that limiting sugar during the earliest stages of life may have lasting benefits for brain health,' Professor Jiazhen Zheng, the study's lead author, said. 'These results highlight the potential importance of early-life nutrition in reducing the risk of dementia decades later.'Researchers from The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology compared 64,737 people born before and after the World War II sugar rationing in the UK. Participants were grouped by when sugar rationing occurred - before birth and during their first year, before birth and up to two years old, or no sugar rationing.Starting when participants reached an average age of 55, the team analysed their medical records to identify who was diagnosed with dementia in the next 15 years. Too much sugar before two years-old can fuel dementia in later lifeOf the 15,256 who did not have access to sugar before birth and in their first two years of life, just two per cent went on to develop dementia. After adjusting for age, sex and contributing factors like high blood pressure, results showed those who had experienced sugar rationing had up to a 23 per cent lower risk of dementia than those born after 1953, when it became more widely available.Those who didn't consume a lot of sugar in early life also developed dementia around two and a half years later than those who did. These participants also had less brain tissue damage and more total grey matter – which has been associated with better thinking skills and memory – according to brain scans. Professor Zheng concluded: 'Limiting added sugars during pregnancy and infancy may be one beneficial step that families and communities can take.' However, he added, further research is needed to better understand how early life exposures influence dementia risk. Although researchers said the findings do not conclusively prove eating less sugar directly prevents dementia, experts say it fits with growing evidence that sugar affects brain function.Experts are increasingly finding that the brain is highly sensitive to fluctuations in blood sugars. Studies show that those with elevated blood sugar levels are at a 69 per cent increased risk of Alzheimer's.