Sugary drinks are a major contributor to chronic health issues. A new study from Tufts University in Boston suggests that approximately one in 10 new cases of Type 2 diabetes and one in 30 new cases of cardiovascular disease are linked to sugary drinks.
For the study, published in Nature Medicine on Jan. 6, researchers conducted a comprehensive analysis of the global burden of sugar-sweetened beverages. Researchers examined sugary drink intake data from dietary surveys involving 2.9 million people across 118 countries, representing nearly 90 percent of the global population.
They found that from 1990 to 2020, sugary drinks caused 5 percent of all Type 2 diabetes deaths and 2 percent of all cardiovascular disease (CVD) deaths.
The proportion of Type 2 diabetes cases linked to sugary drinks increased by 1.3 percent absolute percentage points globally.
“T2D (Type 2 diabetes) burdens increased from 1990 to 2020 globally, although CVD burdens remained stable,” Laura Lara-Castor, corresponding author and postdoctoral scholar at the Institute for Health Metrics and Evaluation based at the University of Washington, told The Epoch Times.
Global Burden of Diseases Tied to Sugary Drink Intake
The study analyzed people’s dietary intake of sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) based on 450 surveys.
The researchers found that from 1990 to 2020, SSB intake was linked to approximately 12.5 million years of healthy life lost to disease. Among these, 5 million lost years were due to Type 2 diabetes, and 7.6 million were due to cardiovascular disease.
Latin America and the Caribbean were the most affected, with the highest proportion of Type 2 diabetes and heart disease cases linked to sugary drink consumption. Southeast and East Asian countries were the least affected.
Latin America had the highest number of Type 2 diabetes cases linked to sugary drinks, while the Middle East and North Africa had the highest number of CVD cases linked to them.
The authors categorized sugary drinks as beverages containing added sugar and at least 50 calories, such as soft drinks, fruit drinks, energy drinks, and lemonades.
Drinks composed of 100 percent fruit or vegetable juice, sweetened milk, and zero-calorie artificially sweetened drinks did not count as sugary drinks.
Sugary drinks lead to adverse health effects for many reasons, including raising blood sugar and promoting fat buildup.
Drinking sugary drinks causes a rapid spike in blood sugar levels, forcing the body to work hard to return to baseline. Over time, constant sugar spikes impair the body from being able to cope with these sugar rushes, leading to chronically high blood sugar levels—a key factor in Type 2 diabetes.
The fructose present in table sugar and high-fructose corn syrup, used to sweeten drinks, prompts the liver to produce excess fat. This fat can build up in the liver and blood vessels, leading to fatty liver and cardiovascular disease.
Developing Nations Are the Most Affected
Developing nations, including Colombia, Mexico, and South Africa, are among those hardest hit by the adverse effects of sugary beverages. In Colombia, over 48 percent of new diabetes cases and 23 percent of new cardiovascular disease cases were linked to SSB consumption.“As SSB intakes have leveled or started to decline in high-income nations, the beverage industry has turned to emerging markets where populations are highly susceptible to marketing appeal of aspirational ‘Western’ lifestyles,” Lara-Castor said.
Adults who are more educated are the most affected by this trend, she said.
Countries with lower incomes, education levels, and health outcomes often face challenges in reducing sugary drink consumption. Contributing factors include lower tax rates on sweetened beverages and weak government enforcement of regulations. Also, limited clean water access can exacerbate the problem, Lara-Castor said.
It is difficult for people to transition to reducing their sweetened drink consumption when they are exposed to so much advertising and cheap drinks, she said, with industry opposition blunting efforts to reduce sugary drink consumption.
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