High consumption of soft drinks increases the risk of heart disease and diabetes

This study was published in Circulation 2007 Jul 31;116(5):480-8

Study title and authors:

Soft drink consumption and risk of developing cardiometabolic risk factors and the metabolic syndrome in middle-aged adults in the community.

Dhingra R, Sullivan L, Jacques PF, Wang TJ, Fox CS, Meigs JB, D'Agostino RB, Gaziano JM, Vasan RS.

Framingham Heart Study, 73 Mount Wayte Ave, Suite 2, Framingham, MA 01702-5803, USA.

This study can be accessed at: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/17646581

Metabolic syndrome is the name for a group of risk factors that raises your risk for heart disease and other health problems, such as diabetes and stroke. 

Metabolic syndrome was defined as the presence of three or more of the following: 

(i) Waist circumference more than 35 inches (women) or more than 40 inches (men).

(ii) Fasting blood glucose levels more than 100 mg/dL (5.5 mmol/l).

(iii) Triglycerides levels more than 150 mg/dL (1.69 mmol/l).

(iv) Blood pressure more than 135/85 mm Hg.

(v) High-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol less than 40 mg/dL (1.03 mmol/l) (men) or less than 50 mg/dL (1.29 mmol/l) (women). 

This study investigated the incidence of metabolic syndrome and its components to soft drink consumption in 6.039 person-observations (average age 52.9 years) who were free of metabolic syndrome at the start of the study.

The study found that compared to those who drank less than one soft drink per day:

(a) Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 31% increased risk of obesity.

(b) Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 30% increased risk in having a bigger waist circumference.  

(c) Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 25% increased risk of high fasting glucose levels.

(d) Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 18% increased risk of high blood pressure.

(e) Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 25% increased risk of elevated triglyceride levels.

(f) Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 32% increased risk of low levels of the beneficial high density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol.

(g) Those who drank one or more soft drinks a day had a 44% increased risk of developing metabolic syndrome.

This study reveals that in middle-aged adults, soft drink consumption is associated with a higher incidence of metabolic syndrome and therefore a raised risk of health problems such as heart disease, stroke and diabetes.

Links to other studies:
Drinking cola is associated with a 87% increased risk for development of type 2 diabetes
Cola and other soft drinks increase the risk of diabetes by 24%
Both sugar-sweetened and artificially sweetened drinks increase the risk type II diabetes