One Soda Per Day Raises Diabetes Risk, Study Suggests

Here’s yet another reason for giving up soda: A new study out today suggests that just one 12 ounce serving of a sugar-sweetened beverage can raise the risk of developing type 2 diabetes by up to 22 percent. Since most research on the evils of soda has looked at North American populations, researchers at the Imperial College of London wanted to see if they could establish a link between sugary drink consumption and type 2 diabetes in Europeans too. To test their theory, the researchers combed through over 15 years of data on sugar-sweetened beverage consumption that included more than 27,000 people from seven European countries. During that time period more than 40 percent developed type 2 diabetes, with those who said they drank at least one soda or some other sweet drink each day showing an 18 percent higher risk of developing the disease. When factors like body weight and body mass index weren’t controlled for, the risk rose to 22 percent. This is consistent with findings from U.S. studies that find that soda drinking is associated with a 25 percent increased diabetes risk. Notably, even diet soda drinkers had to worry about developing diabetes. However, when body weight and exercise levels were factored in, the link disappeared. In other words, healthy-weight, exercising diet soda drinkers were no more likely to develop type two diabetes than non-soda drinkers. http://abcnews.go.com/blogs/health/2013/04/25/one-soda-per-day-raises-diabetes-risk-study-suggests/