Drinking cola is associated with a 87% increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes

This study was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association 2004 Aug 25;292(8):927-34

Study title and authors:
Sugar-sweetened beverages, weight gain, and incidence of type 2 diabetes in young and middle-aged women.

Schulze MB, Manson JE, Ludwig DS, Colditz GA, Stampfer MJ, Willett WC, Hu FB.
Department of Nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, Boston, Mass, USA. mschulze@channing.harvard.edu

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/15328324

The objective of the study was to examine the association between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and weight change and risk of type 2 diabetes in women. The study lasted for eight years and included 91,249 women free of diabetes and other major chronic diseases at the start of the trial. Altogether there was 716,300 person-years of follow-up.

The study found:

• Weight gain over a 4-year period was highest among women who increased their sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption from 1 or fewer drinks per week to 1 or more drinks per day (4.69 kg gain for 1991 to 1995 and 4.20 kg gain for 1995 to 1999).
• Weight gain over a 4-year period was smallest among women who decreased their sugar-sweetened soft drink consumption from 1 or more drinks per day to 1 or fewer drinks per week (1.34 kg gain for 1991 to 1995 and 0.15 kg gain for 1995 to 1999).
• Women consuming 1 or more sugar-sweetened soft drinks per day had a 83% increased risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those who consumed less than 1 of these beverages per month.
• Women consuming 1 or more sugar-sweetened cola drinks per day had a 87% increased risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those who consumed less than 1 of these beverages per month.
• Women consuming 1 or more fruit punch drinks per day had a 100% increased risk of type 2 diabetes compared with those who consumed less than 1 of these beverages per month.

Schulze concludes; "a higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is associated with a greater magnitude of weight gain and an increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes in women."