Soda And Diabetes Linked In New Research; Increases Risk By 22 Percent

A recent study has shown that drinking just one 12-ounce sugar-sweetened soft drink a day can increase the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 22 percent a, European study contends.

They also discovered that soda-drinkers who have two per day are 18 percent more likely to have a stroke than those who drank one.

Finally, those who drank three sodas per day had the same risk increase from those who had two. The results showing a link between soda and diabetes even held when researchers took into account risk factors for the disease, like age, physical activity levels, body mass index, and total daily calorie intake.

The study was able to find an association between the two, while the researchers cautioned that they couldn't prove soda will cause Type 2 diabetes.

The findings reflect earlier ones in the United States, which also linked soda consumption to Type 2 diabetes. But the new study, done in Europe, couldn't prove the link, it merely found an association. This is because there may be other factors that the study did not take into account.

MSN's Healthy Living reported the increased risk of developing diabetes associated with having one sugar-sweetened soft drink a day fell to 18 percent when the investigators took into account people's total calorie intake and body-mass index (BMI), a measurement of body fat based on height and weight.

Both total calorie intake and BMI are believed to play a role in the link between sugar-sweetened soft drinks and diabetes risk. The fact that diabetes risk fell only slightly when these two factors were taken into account could indicate that the effect of sugar-sweetened soft drinks on diabetes goes beyond their impact on body weight, said Dora Romaguera, of the Imperial College London, and colleagues.

The findings are published in the April 24 issue of the journal Diabetologia.

Consumption of pure or diluted fruit juice was not significantly associated with diabetes risk, according to the report.

The 22 percent increased risk of diabetes among Europeans who drink sugar-sweetened soft drinks is similar to previous research showing that North Americans who consume these types of beverages have a 25 percent increased risk of diabetes, the researchers said in a journal news release.

However, the British study is not without issues. Each country's study center analyzed their data a little differently and that could introduce errors.

It does however seem to reinforce the clear message that sugary drinks have an unhealthy effect, not only on the waistline, but on overall health.