Beware of sugar-sweetened beverages!

Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are everywhere around us in our daily lives, despite their known effects on health. More specifically, consumption of these drinks is associated with a higher risk of type 2 diabetes (T2D) and cardiovascular disease (CVD). A study that collected data over 30 years provides an update on this topic...

Due to their liquid nature, SSBs are 𝐪𝐮𝐢𝐜𝐤𝐥𝐲 𝐢𝐧𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐝𝐢𝐠𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐝, while providing a high number of calories, leading to 𝐰𝐞𝐢𝐠𝐡𝐭 𝐠𝐚𝐢𝐧. Excess body fat and metabolic dysfunction increase the risk of hypertension, dyslipidemia, and diabetes, and ultimately that of 𝐢𝐬𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐜 𝐜𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐢𝐨𝐯𝐚𝐬𝐜𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐫 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬. The authors of this recent article published in 𝑁𝑎𝑡𝑢𝑟𝑒 𝑀𝑒𝑑𝑖𝑐𝑖𝑛𝑒 analyzed data collected from 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟎 𝐭𝐨 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎, following up on a 2010 publication. At that time, it was estimated that SSBs were responsible for 𝟏𝟖𝟒,𝟎𝟎𝟎 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐬 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝𝐰𝐢𝐝𝐞.

In 2020, the number of 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐓𝟐𝐃 due to SSB consumption was 𝟐.𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧, and the number of 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐂𝐕𝐃 attributed to SSB consumption was 𝟏.𝟐 𝐦𝐢𝐥𝐥𝐢𝐨𝐧. These figures represented 𝟗.𝟖% 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟑.𝟏% 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐨𝐭𝐚𝐥 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐢𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞, respectively. The damage caused by SSBs was highest in Latin America, the Caribbean, and 𝐬𝐮𝐛-𝐒𝐚𝐡𝐚𝐫𝐚𝐧 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚, a region where the proportions of T2D and CM attributable to SSBs 𝐢𝐧𝐜𝐫𝐞𝐚𝐬𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝟏𝟗𝟗𝟎 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟎 (+8.8% and +4.4%, respectively).

These findings highlight the need for 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐠𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐩𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐦𝐨𝐬𝐭 𝐚𝐟𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐞𝐝 by the effects of SSBs. Actions have been taken to counter the consumption of SSBs in some countries, but the results of this study suggest that these 𝐞𝐟𝐟𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐬 𝐦𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐛𝐞 𝐦𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐞 𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬.