Sugary Drinks

Sugary drinks may explain 180 000 deaths worldwide each year

MARCH 19, 2013 Marlene Busko
 large amounts of sugary beverages was associated with an increased body-mass index (BMI), which in turn was linked with BMI-related deaths from diabetes, CVD, and cancer [1].

Specifically, the researchers found that in 2010, 132 000 deaths from diabetes, 44 000 deaths from CVD, and 6000 deaths from cancer in the world could be attributed to drinking sugar-sweetened soft drinks, fruit juice, or sports beverages.

The study by Dr Gitanjali Singh (Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, MA) and colleagues was reported atEPI|NPAM 2013, the Epidemiology and Prevention/Nutrition, Physical Activity and Metabolism 2013 Scientific Sessions.

"It is a [surprisingly] large number of deaths—tens of thousands of deaths—that are being caused by consuming sugary beverages," Singh said in an interview. Three-quarters of these BMI-related deaths were from diabetes, which "suggests that limiting sugary-beverage intake is an important step in reducing diabetes deaths," she noted./.../