Scientists: sugary drinks increase the risk of premature death

New research by scientists from Harvard University provides convincing evidence of the link between consumption of artificially sweetened beverages and the risk of premature death. He writes about it BBC Russian Service.

Фото: Depositphotos

Researchers have found that sugar-containing beverages increase the risk of early death from a number of diseases, including some types of cancer.

The study collected 37 data of thousands of men and 80 of thousands of women older than 30 years.

It turned out that the more sugary drinks a person drank, the higher was the risk of early death.

“When compared to a group of people who drink less than one sugary drink per month, those who drink one to four drinks per month have a 1% increased risk, and those who drink two to six drinks have a 6% increased risk.” if you drink sugary drinks every day - by 14%, and if you drink more than one drink a day - by 21%,” says Vasanti Malik, a researcher at the Harvard Institute of Nutrition and author of the study.

World consumption

According to the researchers, there is a particularly strong link between consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and the risk of early death from cardiovascular disease. Scientists also talk about a “moderate” risk of cancer.

The results are of particular concern against the background of growing rates of consumption of soft drinks in the world. According to the organization Euromonitor International, if five years ago one person drank an average of 84,1 liters of soft drinks per year, then in 2018, the global figure rose to 91,9 liters.

Harvard scientists note that diet drinks are less harmful to health, but their market share is noticeably smaller - only 3,1 liters per person per year.

The worst situation in China, the United States and Spain, where soft drinks drink the most. So, in China, on average 410,7 liters per person, USA - 356,8 liters, Spain - 267,5 liters. In Russia, an average of 84,42 liters of soft drinks per year is per person.

According to the Euromonitor International report, on average, one resident of China drinks more than a liter of soft drinks per day. This number includes bottled drinking water, but Global Data analyzed the market and concluded that in China's 2017, consumption of bottled water was only 30,8 liters per year, while 410 liters per year accounted for all other non-alcoholic beverages.

Фото: Depositphotos

Counting calories

A 2015 report in the medical journal Lancet found that on average, Americans get 157 calories a day from sugar-sweetened drinks—slightly more than one can of cola.

According to the Coca-Cola site, one jar of 330 ml contains 35 grams of sugar (almost 7 teaspoons). The World Health Organization recommends that you consume no more than 50 grams of sugar per day (12,5 teaspoons).

But at the time of the Lancet study, there were countries in which sugar was consumed even more than in the USA.

Before the introduction of a tax on sugar per person in Chile, 188 calories per day were needed. New measures have reduced the consumption of sugar-containing beverages by more than 21%.

Almost in 30 countries, including in the UK, they imposed an excise on sugar-containing beverages. Not surprisingly, some experts took the study of Harvard scientists as a reason for the introduction of restrictive measures.

“The study's findings support policies to limit the sale of sugar-sweetened beverages to children and adolescents, as well as taxes on soda, because the current price of sugar-sweetened drinks does not include the high costs of treating the consequences,” said Harvard professor Walter Willett.

Health services also pay attention to the effect of sugary drinks on children and adolescents.

According to the WHO, the number of children and adolescents diagnosed with obesity in age from 5 to 19 years has grown from 11 million in 1975 to 124 million in 2016.

However, recent studies have shown that excessive consumption of sugary drinks can lead to more serious consequences.

Read also on ForumDaily:

Food that kills us: the list

Five reasons why Americans are overweight

What is better thirst quencher: sparkling water or plain

How much water to drink on a hot day: the advice of Israeli doctors

Coca-Cola hired scientists to dispel myths and teach how to lose weight

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.