Issue 212 Item 5 Drinking Soda Leads To Diabetes In Women

Harvard study says drinking more then one regular soft drink a day increase risk for developing diabetes in women. Chugging more than one sugar-sweetened soft drink a day does more than just add pounds. Women in the study who drank at least one sugar-sweetened soda a day were 85 per cent more likely to develop type 2 diabetes than those who drank less, said Matthias Schulze, who presented the Harvard School of Public Health research at the American Diabetes Association’s 64th scientific sessions.

In addition to the sodas’ excess calories, their large amount of rapidly absorbable sugars could contribute to obesity and a greater risk of diabetes, said Schulze.
"It’s not that sugar everywhere is important, but it seems that sugar specifically in liquid foods may be relevant," Schulze said. "So, sodas and other energy-providing drinks may lead to an over consumption of energy that would lead to obesity and weight gain."

Diet sodas with sugar substitutes, however, did not increase the chances of developing diabetes, Schulze said. He added that the women who drank diet sodas tended to lose weight.

Diabetes is an illness that develops, often in middle age, when a body loses the ability to turn blood sugar into energy. According to Schulze’s study, the women most prone to gaining weight had increased their consumption of sugary soft drinks from less than one a week to more than one a day. On average, those women gained nine-10 pounds in a four-year period. But women who cut their intake of soft drinks gained an average of three pounds or less.

The research followed more than 91,000 adult women over an eight-year period. It is part of the Nurses Health Study at Boston’s Brigham and Women’s Hospital.
The research comes two months after the release of a British study showing school programs that discouraged drinking sodas appeared to be effective in reducing obesity among children.

"It provides ammunition for education efforts, labeling changes and restricting soft drink consumption in schools," Jacobsen said.

The soda diabetes study was conducted by the Harvard School of Public Health and was presented at the American Diabetes Association meeting.

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