Sugar-sweetened beverages contribute about half of the total added sugar in the U.S. food supply.
The source of the sweetness in most products is high-fructose corn syrup.
Sugary drinks include:
regular soda
juice drinks, like fruit punch
energy drinks
sports drinks
sweet tea
sweetened coffee drinks
sweetened water
any other beverages with sucrose or high-fructose corn syrup added to enhance sweetness.
6 in 10 young people aged 2 to 19 years and 5 in 10 adults consume a sugary drink on a given day.
Sugar sweetened beverages contributed to 2.2 million new cases of type two diabetes and 1.2 million cases of cardiovascular disease across the globe in 2020 (Nature Medicine).
It is estimated that sugary drinks are accountable for about one and 10 cases of type two diabetes and more than 30 cases of cardiovascular disease globally.
Adults who consume sugary drinks incur an increased risk of cancer.
Assessed 101,257 participants from the French 2009-2017: an analysis of 2,193 cases indicated that sugary drink consumption was significantly linked with the increased overall risk of cancer.
A specific sub analyses suggest the consumption of 100% fruit juices was notably linked with an increased risk of cancer.
However, artificially sweetened beverages were not linked to an increased risk of cancer.
This observational study based on a large prospective cohort suggest that a higher consumption of sugary drinks is associated with the risk of overall cancer and breast cancer.
100% fruit juices were also associated with the risk of overall cancer in this study.
Nutritional recommendations to limit sugary drink consumption, including 100% fruit juice, which might potentially contribute to the reduction of cancer incidence.
Increasing total sugary beverage intake by more than half a serving daily over a four-year period increased T2D risk by 16% in the subsequent four years.
In a meta-analysis of 173,753 participant’s sugar intake in the form of sugar-sweetened beverages were associated with a greater risk for coronary heart disease, with a 16% relative risk increase of coronary heart disease for each additional daily serving.
In the prospective study of the Framingham Heart Study Offspring cohort, intake of sugar-sweetened beverages was not associated with increased Cardiovascular disease.
Consumption of total, sugar-sweetened, and artificially sweetened soft drinks is linked to all-cause mortality, according to the findings of a recent study published in JAMA Internal Medicine.
Higher all-cause mortality among participants who consumed two or more soft drink glasses per day.
In 98,786 post menopausal women followed for a median of 20.9 years those consuming three servings or less of sugar sweetened beverages per month compared to those consuming one or more servings per day had a higher rate of liver cancer, 18 versus 10.3/100,000 persons and chronic disease mortality.