(10-11-10) Drinking This Beverage Will Increase the Risk for Diabetes

A new study has found that regular consumption of soda and other sugar-
sweetened beverages is associated with a clear and consistently greater risk of
metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.

According to the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers, the study
provides empirical evidence that intake of sugary beverages should be limited
to reduce risk of these conditions.

The study appears online Wednesday in the journal Diabetes Care and will
appear in the November print edition.

?Many previous studies have examined the relationship between sugar-sweetened
beverages and risk of diabetes, and most have found positive associations but
our study, which is a pooled analysis of the available studies, provides an
overall picture of the magnitude of risk and the consistency of the evidence,?
said lead author Vasanti Malik, a research fellow in the HSPH Department of
Nutrition.

Consumption of sugary drinks, the majority of which are sodas, has increased
substantially in the U.S. and across the globe and previous scientific studies
have shown consistent associations with weight gain and risk of obesity.

However, this study is the first meta-analysis to quantitatively review the
evidence linking sugar- sweetened beverages with type 2 diabetes and metabolic
syndrome.

Metabolic syndrome is a group of risk factors, such as high blood pressure and
excess body fat around the waist, that increase the risk of coronary artery
disease, stroke and diabetes.

The researchers, led by Malik and senior author Frank Hu, professor of
nutrition and epidemiology at HSPH, did a meta- analysis that pooled 11 studies
that examined the association between sugar-sweetened beverages and those
conditions. The studies included more than 300,000 participants and 15,043
cases of type 2 diabetes and 19,431 participants and 5,803 cases of metabolic
syndrome.

The findings showed that drinking one to two sugary drinks per day increased
the risk of type 2 diabetes by 26 percent and the risk of metabolic syndrome by
20 percent compared with those who consumed less than one sugary drink per
month. Drinking one 12- ounce serving per day increased the risk of type 2
diabetes by about 15 percent.

?The association that we observed between soda consumption and risk of
diabetes is likely a cause-and-effect relationship because other studies have
documented that sugary beverages cause weight gain, and weight gain is closely
linked to the development of type 2 diabetes,? said Hu.

While a number of factors are at work in the development of type 2 diabetes
and metabolic syndrome, sugar-sweetened beverages represent one easily
modifiable risk factor that if reduced will likely make an important impact,
say the researchers.

?People should limit how much sugar-sweetened beverages they drink and replace
them with healthy alternatives, such as water, to reduce risk of diabetes as
well as obesity, gout, tooth decay, and cardiovascular disease,? said Malik.

source: Xinhua News Agency

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