Soft drink links to diabetes - Research says

DONT WE ALL LOVE OUR SOFT DRINKS

The result of a recent research work in Europe suggests that drinking one or more cans of sugary soft drinks a day is linked to an increased risk of diabetes in later life.

According to the study, a can a day raises the relative risk of Type-2 diabetes by about a fifth, compared with one can a month or under, say European scientists, in a report in the journal diabetologia that  mirrors previous US findings.

The latest research was carried out in the UK, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France and the Netherlands, A diabetes charity therefore recommends limiting sugary foods and drinks as they are calorific and can cause weight gain.

"Given the increase in sweet beverage consumption, clear messages on its deleterious effect on health should be given to the population," Dr Romaguera and colleagues conclude in their research paper.

An increased risk of diabetes was also linked to drinking artificially sweetened soft drinks, but this disappeared when body mass index was taken into account. Fruit juice consumption was not associated with diabetes incidence, however.

Commenting on the results, Dr Matthew Hobbs, head of research at Diabetes UK, said the link between sugar-sweetened soft drinks and Type-2 diabetes persisted even when body mass index was taken into account. This suggests the increased risk is not solely due to extra calories, he said.

"Even so, it is not definitive evidence that sugar-sweetened soft drinks increase the risk of Type 2 diabetes, other than through their effect on body weight," he added.

"We do, though, already recommend limiting consumption of sugary foods and drinks as these are usually high in calories and so can lead to weight gain if you have too many of them.

"This is important for Type 2 diabetes because we know that maintaining a healthy weight is the single most important thing you can do to prevent it."

Statistics expert Professor Patrick Wolfe, from University College London, said the absolute risk of Type-2 diabetes is low at about four per cent of the adult UK population. "In and of themselves, sugary soft drinks are only part of the picture - they're just one of the potential risk factors for Type-2 diabetes," he said.

"But since they are one we can easily eliminate - by switching to diet soft drinks or, even better, cutting them out of our diets altogether - it makes good sense to do so."

Director General of the drinks industry body the British Soft Drinks Association Gavin Partington    said: "Soft drinks are safe to consume but, like all other food and drink, should be consumed in moderation as part of a balanced diet."