Researchers at the University of Utah have discovered that a three-soda-a-day habit could be deadly. According to a news release from the University of Utah, the researchers found that when mice consumed a diet of 25 percent extra sugar, which is the equivalent of a human diet plus three cans of soda per day, females died at twice the normal rate and males were 25 percent less likely to hold territory and reproduce.

“Our results provide evidence that added sugar consumed at concentrations currently considered safe exerts dramatic adverse impacts on mammalian health,” the researchers said.

“This demonstrates the adverse effects of added sugars at human-relevant levels,” posited senior author and biology professor Wayne Potts.

The test revealed that the mice “died more often and tended to have fewer babies,” noted first author James Ruff. He added that the results showed that levels of sugar that people frequently consume harm the health of mice.

The test positioned groups of mice in room-sized pens with numerous nest boxes; a setup that allowed the mice to contest more naturally for mates and territories, and thereby showing subtle toxic effects on their performance, according to Potts.

The researchers discovered that after 32 weeks in “mouse barns,” 35 percent of the females given extra sugar died, twice the 17 percent death rate for female control mice. They found that there was no variation in the 55 percent death among males who did and did not receive extra sugar. According to Ruff, males have much greater death rates than females in natural settings because they fight for territory.

The researchers also discovered that males on the added-sugar diet obtained and held 26 percent fewer territories than males on the control diet. Control males held 47 percent of the territories while sugar-added mice held less than 36 percent.

Furthermore, the researchers found that males on the added-sugar diet generated 25 percent fewer offspring than control males. The sugar-added females had greater reproduction rates than controls initially, but then had lower reproductive rates as time passed.

“Our test shows an adverse outcome from the added-sugar diet that couldn’t be detected by conventional tests,” Potts said.

Will this study make you think twice about the amount of soda you drink per day? Share your thoughts in the comments section.

The study’s findings are described in greater detail in the journal Nature Communications.