FoOdS ThAt CaN CaUsE DiAbEtEs

Obesity and type 2 diabetes are both on the rise. At the same time, people in the U.S. are drinking more soft drinks. Recent studies show a link between the sugar-sweetened drinks that children drink and their risk of obesity.

Researchers wanted to know if the same link exists in adult women. Also, they wanted to know if drinking more sugar-sweetened drinks increases women's risk of getting type 2 diabetes.

Who was studied?

In all, 51,603 women were studied. None of them had diabetes when the study began. They were followed for 8 years.

How was the study done?

Researchers asked these women for diet and body weight information in 1991, 1995, and 1999.

They asked participants how much soda they drank and what kind: sugar-sweetened ("regular") or diet. They also asked how much fruit punch and fruit juice they drank. Researchers determined who drank more of these beverages and who cut down on them as the study went on.

Women who were diagnosed with diabetes during the study years reported this to the researchers.

What did the researchers find?

Women who drank more sugar-sweetened soft drinks as the study went on gained the most weight. Women who cut down on soft drinks as the study went on gained less weight.

Women who drank more soft drinks from 1991 to 1995 gained an average of 17.6 pounds by the end of the study. Women who cut down on soft drinks gained an average of 6.2 pounds.

Researchers found the opposite results for diet soft drinks. Women who drank more diet soft drinks as the study went on gained less weight than women who cut down on diet soft drinks.

Women who drank more fruit punch as the study went on gained more weight than those who cut down on fruit punch.

Participants reported 741 new cases of type 2 diabetes during the study. Drinking more sugar-sweetened soft drinks was linked to higher risk of diabetes.

Drinking more fruit punch was also linked to higher risk of diabetes. Drinking more fruit juice was not linked to diabetes risk.

What were the limitations of the study?

Participants reported their own body weights. It may be that some of the weights were incorrect and that weight gain figures were too low. Drink consumption was based on memory, which may not be accurate.

Standards for defining diabetes changed in 1997. Going by the latest standards, the figures for new cases of diabetes may have been too low.

What are the implications of the study?

People should cut down on sugar-sweetened beverages to prevent obesity and type 2 diabetes.