Regular Consumption of Sugary Soda Could Lead to Prediabetes

10 Nov 2016 --- Adult Americans who regularly consumed around one can of sugar-sweetened beverages every day, had a 46 percent higher risk of developing pre-diabetes compared to low or non-consumers, according to scientists at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University. 

Published in the Journal of Nutrition, the study, which ran over a 14-year period, also found that higher sugar-sweetened beverage intake was also associated with increased insulin resistance, a risk factor for type 2 diabetes.

“Although our study cannot establish causality, our results suggest that high sugar-sweetened beverage intake increases the chances of developing early warning signs for type 2 diabetes,” said senior study author Nicola McKeown, Ph.D., scientist in the Nutritional Epidemiology Program at the USDA HNRCA.

“If lifestyle changes are not made, individuals with prediabetes are on the trajectory to developing diabetes.”

“Our findings support recommendations to limit sugar-sweetened beverage intake, which can be achieved by replacing sugary beverages with healthier alternatives such as water or unsweetened coffee or tea,” added McKeown, who is also an associate professor at the Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy at Tufts.

“This is a simple dietary modification that could be of substantial health benefit to people who consume sugary drinks daily and who are at increased risk of diabetes.”

Interestingly, the study found no associations between diet soda consumption and risk of prediabetes or increased insulin resistance, although the research team notes that previous studies on associations between diet soda and risk of type 2 diabetes, have produced mixed results and further studies are needed to reveal the long-term health impact of artificially sweetened drinks.

More research is needed to determine whether there are real health risks with long-term diet soda consumption, say the study authors.

The study looked at 1,685 middle-aged adults over a period of 14 years, non of who had diabetes or prediabetes during an initial baseline examination.

They self-reported their long-term sugar-sweetened beverage and diet soda consumption habits through food frequency questionnaires. Such beverages were defined as colas and other carbonated beverages, as well as non-carbonated fruit drinks such as lemonade and fruit punch.

Fruit juice was not included in the sugar-sweetened beverage category.

The team found those who drank the highest amounts of sugar-sweetened beverages, an average of six 12 fluid ounce servings a week, had a significantly greater risk of developing prediabetes, compared to low or non-consumers, after adjusting for confounding factors such as age, sex and body mass index.

The highest consumers of sugar-sweetened beverages had roughly 8 percent higher insulin resistance scores, compared to low- or non-consumers after follow-up at seven years.

However, the authors also cautioned that despite adjusting for multiple factors, residual confounding cannot be ruled out due to the observational nature of the study.

Participants who were analyzed in the study were mostly middle-aged and Caucasian, more likely to be women, and had lower body mass index and waist circumference, which may limit the generalizability of the findings.

“Based on our observational study alone, we cannot be certain why we saw the relationships we did,” said lead study author Jiantao Ma, Ph.D., who conducted the analysis as part of his doctoral thesis as a student in the Nutrition Epidemiology Program at the USDA HNRCA and the Friedman School.

“Additional studies are needed to fully understand the health impact of sugar-sweetened beverages and diet sodas.”

“Nevertheless, our data are consistent with many other studies and clinical trials that support the health benefits of reducing sugar intake, and we encourage the public to look for healthier options.”