Researchers Reveal Alarming Effects of Sugary Drinks

Beverages like sodas and energy drinks are crafted to be irresistibly appealing, packed with excessive sweeteners that trigger the brain’s pleasure responses.

However, this momentary satisfaction masks significant risks. These sugar-loaded drinks provide little to no nutritional benefit and link to serious health issues such as dental cavities, obesity, type 2 diabetes, and cardiovascular disease.

Alarming Global Impact of Sugary Beverages

A recent study led by researchers at Tufts University in the U.S. estimates that globally, sugary beverages contribute to approximately 1.2 million new cases of heart disease and 2.2 million new cases of type 2 diabetes each year.

Although consumption of these drinks has decreased in some developed nations, they continue to pose a significant public health challenge worldwide, especially in low- and middle-income countries

Dariush Mozaffarian, a cardiologist and public health expert at Tufts University, notes that companies aggressively market these beverages and people widely consume them in lower-income regions.Unfortunately, these communities often lack the resources to address the long-term health effects.

The situation is particularly severe in some countries. For example, in Mexico, nearly one-third of all new diabetes cases are linked to sugary drinks, while in Colombia, these beverages are associated with nearly half of all new cases. In South Africa, the researchers found that sugary drinks contribute to 28% of new diabetes cases and 15% of new heart disease cases.

Defining Sugar-Sweetened Beverages

The study focuses on sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs), defined as drinks with added sugars providing at least 50 kilocalories per 8-ounce serving. This category includes soft drinks, energy drinks, fruit punches, lemonades, and agua frescas, whether commercially made or homemade. It excludes sweetened milk, 100% fruit or vegetable juices, and artificially sweetened noncaloric drinks, although excessive consumption of these can also pose health risks.

To investigate the link between sugary drinks and health issues, the researchers analyzed beverage consumption data from the Global Dietary Database. This dataset includes 450 surveys representing 2.9 million people across 118 countries. The study also incorporated cardiometabolic disease rates and previous findings on the physiological effects of sugary drinks.

The findings implicate sugary beverages in 1.2 million new annual cases of heart disease, 2.2 million cases of type 2 diabetes, and an estimated 80,000 diabetes-related deaths alongside 258,000 cardiovascular disease deaths.

The Urgent Need for Intervention

While these statistics are alarming, highlighting the role of sugary drinks in these conditions could drive change, explains Laura Lara-Castor, the study’s lead author and a nutritional scientist. “We need urgent, evidence-based interventions to reduce global consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages before these drinks shorten even more lives,” she says.

Sugary drinks quickly digest, causing rapid spikes in blood sugar levels and providing little to no substantial nutritional benefits. Regular consumption can lead to weight gain, insulin resistance, and metabolic issues associated with diabetes and heart disease.

Despite growing public awareness of these risks, progress has been slow and uneven across the globe.

Mozaffarian emphasizes that we need greater efforts, especially in regions like Latin America and Africa, where consumption remains high and the health impact is severe. As a global community, we must address the harmful effects of sugar-sweetened beverages.

Read the original article on: Science Alert

Read more: Occasional Indulgence May Be Better for Your Heart Than Avoiding Sugar Completely