(10-03-11) Sodas, Sugary Drinks May Raise BP

Study Finds Higher Blood Pressure in Heavy Soda Drinkers
By Salynn Boyles

- New research suggests that drinking sodas and other sugar-sweetened
beverages every day may raise blood pressure, but a beverage industry trade
group calls the study significantly flawed.

Sugar-sweetened beverages are the No. 1 source of added sugars in the American
diet, and the research is among the first to link them to higher blood
pressure.

The study found that the more sugary sodas and other sugar-sweetened beverages
people drank, the higher their blood pressures tended to be.

Every extra sugar-sweetened beverage drank per day was associated with a 1.6
point rise in systolic blood pressure (the upper number) and a 1 point rise in
diastolic pressure (the lower number).

The highest blood pressures were seen in study participants who drank the most
sugar-sweetened beverages and also had the most added salt in their diets,
study co-author Ian J. Brown, PhD, tells WebMD.

?We know that salt is a risk factor for high blood pressure,? Brown says. ?But
our findings suggest that sugar and salt together may be worse than salt
alone.?

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Sugary Sodas and Blood Pressure
Brown says this finding needs to be confirmed, adding that the research does
not prove sugary sodas and other sources of added sugar in the diet have a
direct impact on blood pressure.

That?s because the study was observational, meaning the participants were
asked to recall what they drank instead of directly comparing participants
given a specific amount of sugar-sweetened beverages to participants who were
not given sugar-sweetened beverages.

People who reported drinking the most non-diet sodas or other sugar-sweetened
drinks also had the highest overall intake of calories and salt and were the
most likely to be obese.

Maureen Storey, PhD, of the soda industry group American Beverage Association,
agrees the study does not prove a link between sugar-sweetened beverages and
elevated blood pressure.

?Finding a very weak association between two things does not establish a cause
and effect,? she says in a news release. ?This study has significant flaws. In
fact, the ... blood pressure changes noted by the authors are inconsequential
and well within standard measurement error.?

In an interview with WebMD, Storey said there is little evidence that sugar-
sweetened beverages are unique contributors to cardiovascular disease.

?A calorie is a calorie, and what the data clearly show is that we are eating
too much and taking in too many calories, period,? she says, adding that
Americans are consuming fewer sugar-sweetened beverages than they were a decade
ago.

AHA: Limit Added Sugars
The research included close to 2,700 middle-aged people in the U.S. and U.K.
who were enrolled in a larger health study.

The participants reported what they ate and drank for four days, during which
time their blood pressures were taken eight times. They also completed a
detailed questionnaire examining lifestyle, medical, and social issues.

AHA: Limit Added Sugars continued...

People who reported drinking more than one serving per day of sugar-sweetened
drinks took in an average of about 400 calories more each day than people who
drank no sugar-sweetened beverages.

The American Heart Association recommends that women limit added sugars in
their diets to no more than 100 calories a day and men limit added sugars to
150 calories.

A typical 12-ounce can of sugar-sweetened soda has about 140 calories, and
just about all the calories come from added sweeteners.

?[Non-diet] sodas are basically sugar water with or without caffeine,? AHA
spokesperson Rachel K. Johnson, PhD, tells WebMD. ?They are the No. 1 source of
added sugars in a population where the majority of people are overweight.?

She concedes that a direct link between soda consumption and obesity and
cardiovascular disease would be difficult to prove, but adds that she does not
think the science linking sugar-sweetened beverages to these health issues has
been overplayed.

Johnson is a professor of nutrition at the University of Vermont.

?I don?t think anyone would say that limiting sugar-sweetened drinks is the
only solution,? she says. ?But to me, it is an important step in the right
direction.?

Source: WebMD Health News Reviewed by Laura J. Martin, MD

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