Sugar-sweetened Drinks Shorten Life Expectancy

2023 Author: Abraham Higgins | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-11-27 23:16

Sugar-sweetened drinks shorten life expectancy

According to a large, long-term study, the more sugar-sweetened drinks a person drinks, the higher their risk of premature death. First of all, the likelihood of death from cardiovascular diseases increases and to a lesser extent from cancer. The risk of premature death associated with the consumption of these drinks was more pronounced among women.

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Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health T. H. Chan (Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health) also found that drinking one serving of an artificially sweetened beverage (PPI) per day instead of a sugar-sweetened beverage (CHF) reduced the risk of premature death. But consuming four or more PPIs per day has been associated with an increased risk of mortality in women.

The study is published in the journal Circulation. According to the authors, the results of the study indicate the desirability of replacing sugar-sweetened beverages with other beverages, and preferably water, to increase life expectancy.

Studies have shown that CCSs (carbonated and non-carbonated soft drinks, fruit drinks, and energy drinks) are the largest source of added sugar in the American diet. According to the authors, consumption of CLOs is also increasing in developing countries, fueled by urbanization and the marketing of these drinks.

Previous studies have found an association between CHF intake and weight gain, as well as an increased risk of type 2 diabetes, heart disease, and stroke, although few have investigated the relationship between CHF and mortality. In the new study, researchers analyzed data from 80,647 women and 37,716 men who participated in the large Nurses' HealthStudy (1980-2014) and HealthProfessionalsFollow-upStudy (1986-2014) studies. In both studies, participants answered questions about their lifestyle and health status every two years.

Ultimately, the researchers found that the more CCHs a person drank, the more their risk of premature death from any cause increased. Compared to drinking SSNs less than once a month, drinking one to four sugar-sweetened beverages a month was associated with a 1% increased risk of death; from two to six CLOs per week - by 6%; from one to two per day - with an increase of 14%; two or more per day - by 21%. The increased risk of early death associated with CHF consumption was more pronounced among women.

A particularly strong association was observed between consumption of sugary drinks and an increased risk of early death from cardiovascular disease (CVD). Compared to those who rarely drank sugar-sweetened beverages, those who drank two or more CHFs per day had a 31% higher risk of early death from CVD. Each additional CHF per day was associated with a 10% increased risk of death from CVD.

In both men and women, there was only a small association between CHF consumption and the risk of early death from cancer. The researchers also examined the link between drinking artificially sweetened beverages and the risk of early death. They found that replacing SSI with PPI was associated with a lower risk of early death. But they also found a link between high consumption of PPIs (at least four drinks a day) and a slightly increased risk of both overall and cardiovascular mortality among women, so the researchers caution against overuse of PPIs.

According to the authors, their findings are consistent with the adverse effects of high sugar intake on metabolic risk factors and provide strong evidence that drinking sugar-sweetened beverages increases the risk of type 2 diabetes, itself a major risk factor for premature death. They also call for limiting the sale of sugary drinks to children and adolescents.