Diabetes risk can be raised by sugary drinks by 22 percent: research - Reuters

Soft drink servings measured (L-R) at 32 ounces and 64 ounces are displayed at a conference at City Hall in Nyc, May 31, 2012. Credit: Reuters/Andrew Burton By Kate Kelland LONDON

Thu Apr 25, 2013 6:42am EDT (Reuters) - Drinking only one can of sugar-laced soft drink drink a day increases the risk of developing diabetes by more than a fifth, in accordance with a big European study published on Wednesday. Using data from 350,000 people in seven Europe, researchers unearthed that every extra 12 fluid ounce (340 ml) serving of sugar-sweetened drink increases the chance of diabetes by 22 per cent in contrast to drinking only one can a month or less. "Given the increase in sweet drink usage in Europe, distinct messages on the effect of these drinks must be given to the population," mentioned Dora Romaguera, who led with research with a group at Imperial College London. A 12-fluid-ounce portion is all about comparable to a can of Coca-Cola, Pepsi and other soft drink. Where many studies demonstrate that intake of sugar-sweetened drinks is clearly associated with conditions and greater body weight like diabetes, similar conclusions are echoed by the findings from study in america. Type 2 diabetes is just a long-term condition seen as a insulin resistance that affects around 2.9 million people in Britain and, in line with the World Health Organisation (WHO), over 310 million people worldwide. Romaguera's team wished to identify whether a link between sugary beverages and diabetes risk also existed in Europe. For their research, they used data from 350,000 people from Britain, Germany, Denmark, Italy, Spain, Sweden, France, Italy, Netherlands who were asked about their diet, including how many sweet and artificially sweetened carbonated drinks and drinks they drank daily. Writing in the diary Diabetologia, the researchers said their study "corroborates the connection between increased incidence of Type-2 diabetes and high usage of sugar-sweetened sodas in European adults." Fruit juice consumption was not linked to diabetes incidence. Patrick Wolfe, a statistics pro from University College London who was not active in the analysis, said the message from its results was clear. "The main point here is that sugary sodas are not good for you - they've no nutritional value and there's evidence that drinking them each day can boost your relative risk for type 2 diabetes," he explained in an emailed opinion. (Editing by Michael Roddy)