Soda, energy drinks and other sugary beverages have been linked to over 184,000 adult deaths every year across the globe.
According to research published in the journal Circulation, researchers looked at 62 dietary surveys that were taken across 51 countries combined with nationally available data on sugar in 187 countries, according to NBC New York.
“Many countries in the world have a significant number of deaths occurring from a single dietary factor, sugar-sweetened beverages,” said study coauthor Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, dean of the Friedman School of Nutrition Science & Policy at Tufts University. “It should be a global priority to substantially reduce or eliminate sugar-sweetened beverages from the diet.”
The data that was collected was from 611,971 individuals between 1980 and 2010. The report looked at all sugar-sweetened beverages which included any sugar-sweetened sodas, fruit drinks, sports and energy drinks, sweetened iced teas, or homemade sugary drinks that contained at least 50 kcal per 8oz serving. For this study, 100% fruit juices were not included.
The study found that in 2010 alone, 133,000 deaths were linked to sugary drinks through diabetes. Another 45,000 deaths from cardiovascular disease and 6,450 deaths from cancer, all related to sugary drinks.
The researchers also found that the impact of these sugar-filled drinks was different between populations across the globe. Only 1 percent of death in people over 65 years of age in Japan were linked to the sugary beverages while in Mexico, an overwhelming 30 percent of deaths in adults younger than 45.
From the global study, Mexico stood out as the largest country with the most deaths related to sugary beverages, with the U.S. coming in right behind them in second place.
The American Beverage Association, a trade group representing soft drink manufacturers, said “This study does not show that consuming sugar-sweetened beverages causes chronic diseases and the authors themselves acknowledge that they are at best estimating effects of sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.”
“America’s beverage companies are doing their part to offer consumers the fact-based information and the beverage options they need to make the right choices for themselves and their families,” the statement added.
Although it is not certain it was the sugar-sweetened beverages that directly caused the deaths in the study, they do believe that the authors of the study used very sophisticated statistical techniques that lead them to the findings which are believed to be highly accurate.
