Deaths Due to Obesity Related Diseases Linked to Over-Consumption of Sweetened Drinks

In a recent study, researchers from Harvard linked 180,000 deaths globally to over-consumption of drinks with high sugar content. The study was presented at the American Heart Association’s annual meeting.

Researchers analyzed the data collected worldwide as part of the World Health Organization's 2010 Global Burden of Diseases Study.

Diabetes Type 2 and Its Link to Sugar-Sweetened Beverages
Sugar-sweetened beverages contribute to metabolic syndrome leading to higher risk for type-2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease.

It is well known that excess consumption of sugary drinks leads to obesity thereby leading to obesity related diseases like heart disease and diabetes. Gitanjali Singh, lead author of the study, and her team have related the consumption of sugary drinks and the deaths due to obesity related illness.

Based on the data, high sugar beverages were linked to 133,000 deaths from diabetes, 44,000 deaths from heart diseases and 6,000 deaths from cancer in 2010.

Authors opine that the findings would help policymakers in framing effective policies to reduce sugary beverage consumption.

Taxing Sugary Beverages Finds Support in California
Nearly three in four Californians support taxing sugary beverages if the money gained from the tax is used in school nutrition.

However, the American Beverage Association has criticized the study does not prove that high sugar beverage consumption causes chronic diseases, which were the actual causes of deaths in the data analyzed.

Source-Medindia

Intake of Non-caloric Beverages May Help Teens Avoid Excessive Weight Gain
Adolescents who avoid consuming sugar-sweetened beverages for an year are less likely to gain weight, according to a study.

Study Says Rise in Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Not Responsible for Drop in Milk Consumption
While the drop in milk consumption has coincided with a rise in number of children drinking sugar sweetened beverages, there is no evidence to suggest that the two issues are connected