Sugar-sweetened beverages are linked to over 3 million new cases of diabetes and heart disease each year, a new report found

Soda Is Making the Whole World Less Healthy–Here's Why It's So Bad for You Here's how sugary drinks affect your health, and expert-backed tips to help limit them in your diet

Sugar-sweetened beverages are linked to over 3 million new cases of diabetes and heart disease each year, a new report found

• A new study found that sugar-sweetened drinks like soda are linked to over 3 million new cases of diabetes and heart disease each year.
• With high sugar content and little nutritional value, these beverages tend to spike blood sugar without satisfying hunger.
• Experts say it’s best to switch to unsweetened beverages, but stress that public policy is needed to address these health impacts.

Sodas, energy drinks, and other sugar-sweetened beverages are popular in the U.S. and around the globe. But a new study suggests they’re taking a significant toll on people’s health.

According to a new study published on Jan. 6 in Nature Medicine, these sugary drinks are linked to millions of new cases of diabetes and heart disease. And developing countries are facing the brunt of the burden.

“We found that about 3.3 million new cases of diabetes and heart disease are occurring because of people drinking sugar-sweetened beverages, and about one in 10 of those result in deaths,” study author Dariush Mozaffarian, MD, DrPH, director of the Food is Medicine Institute at Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy, told Health. “In some areas of the world, the burdens are also going up.”

Sodas and other sugary drinks are just one piece of a person’s diet—so why can they cause such significant health consequences?

Here’s what experts had to say, plus how to curb sugar-sweetened beverage consumption both in your diet and around the globe.

Linking Sugar-Sweetened Beverages to Diabetes and Heart Disease

Sugar-sweetened beverages can be either homemade or store-bought, and they’re flavored with added sugars. This includes drinks such as soda, energy drinks, fruit drinks, punch, lemonade, and agua frescas.

Sales of these drinks have been on the decline in North America and Europe. However, they’re continuing to surge in countries such as Mexico, Brazil, China, and India, largely due to investments from massive beverage corporations.

To see how sugar-sweetened beverages were affecting people’s health, Mozaffarian and his colleagues used data from 450 surveys collected between 1980 and 2018, including 2.9 million people across 118 countries. This allowed the researchers to estimate people’s consumption.

The researchers also collected data about the burden of disease across these countries. They developed a statistical model to determine how many of these cases could be connected to the consumption of sugary drinks and adjusted for other risk factors of diabetes and heart disease.

The data revealed that 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of heart disease could be attributed to sugar-sweetened beverages each year. That means the drinks contribute to about 9.8% of all type 2 diabetes cases and 3.1% of all heart disease cases.

However, the disease burden was higher in certain countries.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, these drinks contributed to over 21% of all diabetes cases. Meanwhile, in Latin America and the Caribbean, more than 24% of new diabetes cases and 11% of cardiovascular disease cases were tied to sugar-sweetened beverage consumption. Rates were even higher in Colombia, Mexico, and South Africa, specifically.

“[Beverage companies are] really aggressively pursuing the developing markets to where they’re now causing the diabetes, obesity, and cardiovascular burden throughout the world,” Mozaffarian explained.

Men, younger adults, and people with more education were also more likely to see a higher percentage of new heart disease and diabetes cases tied to sugary drink consumption.

This is not the first study to find this connection, said Vasanti Malik, ScD, assistant professor of nutritional sciences at the University of Toronto. However, “this study highlights the specific subpopulations that are most affected by sugar-sweetened beverage-related cardiometabolic risk,” she told Health.

Why Are Sugary Drinks So Bad for Your Health?

While a number of studies have found associations between certain foods or drinks and disease, actually proving cause and effect is difficult.

“Findings from observational studies provide evidence of associations with these outcomes, while findings from trials provide evidence of causality,” Malik said.

So for now, it’s too soon to say that sugar-sweetened beverages cause diabetes and heart disease, cautioned Lyn Steffen, PhD, MPH, professor of epidemiology and community health at the University of Minnesota School of Public Health.

That being said, there are many reasons why drinking sugary beverages can have a more significant impact on your health, even as compared to other treats.

For one, the fact that sugar-sweetened beverages are liquid makes a difference. People can drink and digest soda and other sugary drinks very quickly, so even though they consume a significant amount of calories, they likely won’t feel full after having the drink. This can lead to a higher daily caloric intake.

And besides a quick blast of sugar, these drinks have little nutritional value. For example, a can of cola and a serving of pre-made chocolate cookie dough have 138 and 131 calories, respectively. But though they’re calorically similar, the soda contains just sugar and a small amount of sodium, while the cookie also contains some protein, fat, fiber, and calcium.

The amount of sugar in these drinks can also take a toll on the body—drinking high amounts of glucose spikes the blood sugar and, down the line, can lead to insulin resistance, weight gain, and other issues. These factors can, in turn, raise the risk of diabetes and heart disease.

“In my studies, I’ve found added sugar intake is associated with weight gain, developing obesity, abdominal obesity, and metabolic syndrome,” Steffen told Health. “Also, those who consume high amounts of added sugar-rich foods and beverages do not consume foods rich in fiber or other healthier foods.”

Research has shown that people who drink sugar-sweetened beverages tend to have a lower intake of calcium, dairy, fruit, and fiber.

In addition to sugar-sweetened beverages’ connection to poor heart health and diabetes, some studies have suggested that frequent sugary drink consumption may be linked to mental health issues, poor cognitive health, asthma, and a host of other health issues.

Curbing Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

Sugar-sweetened beverages are considered ultra-processed, and people should consider limiting their consumption to boost their health.

Instead, opt for unsweetened beverages such as water, plain coffee or tea, or sparkling water. Even diet soda can be a healthier choice over sugar-sweetened drinks, but they come with their own set of health risks, too.

What’s most important is that people look at the ingredients to see if what they’re drinking (or eating) is a healthy choice, Steffen said.

Curbing the amount of added sugars you consume can be difficult—some people may even experience withdrawal symptoms—so it’s best to go slowly and choose natural sugars such as fruit when possible.

However, experts say that new policies are needed to really reduce sugar-sweetened beverage consumption across the globe.

“One [policy] is taxation to significantly raise the price. Some nations are doing close to a 100% tax, but at least a 20% tax [is needed] to meaningfully reduce consumption,” Mozaffarian said. “This raises revenue used for educational campaigns or access to safe, clean drinking water.”

Legislators could also add labels to sugary drinks that warn of the adverse health effects, he explained, or prevent schools, hospitals, governments, or other venues from purchasing these drinks. Banning the marketing of sugary beverages to children would also be a major step forward, he said.

“Much of the world is starting to do those things, but the U.S. is pretty far behind,” said Mozaffarian.

Julia is a news reporter and editor for Health, where she covers breaking and trending news on health and wellness topics. Her work has been featured in The Heights, an independent student newspaper at Boston College, and Minnesota Monthly.

This story originally appeared on: Health News - Author:Simon Spichak