B everages sweetened with sugar or high-fructose corn syrup can boost your risk of type 2 diabetes-even if the calories dont make you fat. An analysis of 11 studies totaling more than 300,000 participants fnds that consump- tion of such sweetened drinks appeared to increase the risk of diabetes independent of their effects on obesity. People drink- ing one or two non-diet drinks daily were 26% more likely to develop diabetes than those sipping less than one a month. Consumption of sweetened drinks was also linked to a 20% greater risk of metabolic syndrome, a cluster of symptoms that can lead to diabetes and heart disease.Many previous studies have examined the relationship between sugar-sweetened beverages and risk of diabetes, and most have found positive associations, wrote the researchers, led by Vasanti S. Malik, ScD, of the Harvard School of Public Health, but our study, which is a pooled analysis of the available studies, provides an overall picture of the magnitude of risk and the consistency of the evidence.Malik and colleagues concluded, Findings from our meta-analyses show a clear link between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and risk of metabolic syndrome and type 2 diabetes.Consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages includes all those with calorie-containing sweeteners, such as sugar (sucrose), high-fructose corn syrup and fruit-juice concen- trate-all of which, the researchers noted, have similar effects on metabolism. Americans average daily intake of sugar-sweetened beverages more than doubled between the late 1970s and 2006, to 142 calories per person.I n the new meta-anlysis, although the extra risk went down when the data were adjusted for body-mass index (BMI), it didnt disappear-indicating a separate effect of the ca- loric sweeteners, which can affect glucose and insulin levels. Another recent study indicated that fructose, a key sweetener component, may encourage high blood pressure and un- healthy cholesterol levels; these are both elements in meta- bolic syndrome.Malik and colleagues cautioned, however, that consump- tion of non-diet drinks could simply be a marker for an over- all less-healthy lifestyle. People getting more calories in liquid form may also be munching salty snacks high in saturated fat with their sodas, for example.But, given the emerging evidence, its probably smart to watch your sipping of sugary drinks-which, in any case, add empty calories to your diet. The researchers concluded that the data provide empirical evidence that intake of sugar- sweetened beverages should be limited to reduce obesity-relat- ed risk of chronic metabolic diseases.Sounds like a reason to switch to diet sodas-or even good old H2O. Diabetes Care, November 2010; abstract at <care.diabetesjournals. org/content/33/11/2477.abstract>
