Drinking a Can of Sugary Soda Every Day Can Boost a Person's Risk For Prediabetes, Study Finds (upi.com)

An anonymous reader quotes a report from UPI: Drinking a can of sugary soda every day can dramatically heighten a person's risk of developing prediabetes, a "warning sign" condition that precedes full-blown type 2 diabetes, a new study reports. A person who drinks a daily can of sugar-sweetened beverage has a 46 percent increased risk of developing prediabetes, said senior researcher Nicola McKeown, a scientist with the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University in Boston. For this study, McKeown and her colleagues analyzed 14 years of data on nearly 1,700 middle-aged adults. The information was obtained from the Framingham Heart Study, a federally funded program that has monitored multiple generations for lifestyle and clinical characteristics that contribute to heart disease. Participants did not have diabetes or prediabetes when they entered the study. They self-reported their consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and diet sodas. The research team found those who drank the highest amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages -- six 12-ounce servings a week, on average -- had a 46 percent higher risk of prediabetes, if researchers didn't weigh other factors. Authors of the new study noted that prediabetes risk did decline when they included factors such as other dietary sources of sugar and how much body fat a person had. But it didn't fall much. The increased risk associated with sugary drinks still amounted to about 27 percent, McKeown said. Because the study was observational, it does not establish a direct cause-and-effect link between sugary drinks and prediabetes, McKeown said.

Comments

I wish it was obvious

[Pollux]

Unfortunately, it is not obvious to the majority of Americans. Most still believe the old wives tale that fat makes you fat, and sugar is healthy in moderation. Just as bad are those that think that HFCS is bad, but sugar is OK, because sugar is natural. There's also the naturalists, that shun HFCS and sugar, but are fine with honey, agave nectar, and fruit juices. The truth: it's all bad.

I myself drank a can of pop a day eight years ago. Then, after watching Dr. Lustig's Sugar: The Bitter Truth on YouTube, someone finally explained to me the science, and I understood. But, I must admit, I still like my soda. I'm down to three cans a week, though I wish I had more self control to make it only one a week.

Yes, we all die. But how do you want to get there, and how soon?