Two million cases of Type 2 diabetes linked to consuming fizzy drinks
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Two million cases of Type 2 diabetes have been linked to consuming fizzy drinks, new research suggests. The study, published in the journal Nature Medicine, calculates 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease occur each year worldwide due in part to consuming sugar-sweetened pop and juices. US researchers at Tufts University in Massachusetts found that fizzy drink consumption, having been high in richer countries for decades, has now increased across much of the developing world.
Author Dr Laura Lara-Castor, who now works at the University of Washington, said: "We need urgent, evidence-based interventions to curb consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages globally, before even more lives are shortened by their effects on diabetes and heart disease.".
Sugary drinks are rapidly digested, causing a "spike" in blood sugar levels with little nutritional value. Regular consumption over time leads to weight gain, insulin resistance, and a host of metabolic issues tied to type 2 diabetes and heart disease, two of the world's leading causes of death.
The UK consumes almost eight billion litres of soft drinks annually. A previous study of over 2,000 adults in the UK found that 48% of people drink fizzy drinks every week, and 13% drink them every day. This latest report suggests developing countries have now caught up, calculating that in Sub-Saharan Africa sugar-sweetened drinks contribute to more than 21% of all new diabetes cases. It found in Latin America and the Caribbean they contributed to nearly 24% of new diabetes cases and more than 11% of new cases of cardiovascular disease.
