A new, large-scale study conducted by Harvard University has suggested that the risk of developing type 2 diabetes is 26 per cent higher if you consume two sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) a day.
Additionally to the higher risk of type 2 diabetes, the risk of having a stroke rose 16 per cent, whilst the risk of heart attacks or fatal heart disease rose 35 per cent if you consumed two SSBs daily.
These statistics come from Harvard’s study which investigated data from 84,628 women and 42,908 men, taken between 1980 and 2010. There were no cases of diabetes, cancer or cardiovascular disease amongst the participants at the beginning of their study. Follow ups were carried out every four years.
SSBs can help lead to weight gain as they are liquid calories, which are not filling, so people generally do not cut down their food intake at subsequent meals to compensate. Therefore, reducing your intake of these drinks could help you lose weight and reduce your risk of developing cardio-metabolic, according to Dr Frank Hu, a professor at Harvard.
“Although reducing the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages or added sugar alone is unlikely to solve the obesity epidemic entirely, limiting intake is one simple change that will have a measurable impact on weight control and prevention of cardio-metabolic diseases,” he said.
The Children’s Food Campaign and Action on Sugar, as well as other organisations, have called for a sugar tax to be applied to fizzy drinks in the UK in attempts to reduce the unhealthily high consumption of sugar.
The best way to live a healthy lifestyle is to follow a healthy diet, which includes plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, whilst limiting your intake of processed food, salt and sugar. It is also very important to take part in regular exercise.