New study says soft drinks can lead to obesity and diabetes

Non-diet sugary soft drinks may lead to diabetes and obesity, according to a review published in the Feb. 2007 American Journal of Public Health.

Researchers from Yale University based the review on a systematic analysis of 88 studies. An eight-year study involving over 90,000 women showed that those who had at least one soft drink per day have doubled their risk of developing Type II diabetes, contrary to those consuming less than one drink per month.

The popularity of soft drinks has immensely increased over time. According to a 2004 study at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, U.S. soft drink consumption grew by 135 percent since 1977.

"We found that the average number of soft drink servings per day climbed from 1.96 in 1977 to 2.39 in 2001," one of the researchers, Dr. Barry M. Popkin stated in a press release published on the University Web site.

The American Beverage Association countered the results of the Yale team's study on their Web site, stating "It is not feasible to blame any one food product or beverage as being a sole contributor to obesity ... No science supports such a claim." Since there was no direct link between soft drinks to diabetes and obesity, these conditions cannot yet be definitively blamed on soft drinks. To be able to find such a direct link, researchers must consider body weight and the overall diet of those who are studied. Because sweet-tasting soft drinks are served almost everywhere, Americans have seen a dramatic reduction in their intake of milk and fruit juice drinks. Soda has become what consumeraffairs.com calls "liquid candy." Strong evidence also suggests that soft drinks do not fill to satisfaction like other drinks can, which increases the average American's intake.

"I think that this is completely true," says Danielle Jacovino, freshman, "If you look on a bottle of Pepsi it'll tell you the amount of calories in one serving which isn't too bad. However, it's deceptive because in tiny letters it'll say that it has like two and a half servings." Indeed, though calorie intake is lawfully stated on the bottle, the true number of calories within the bottle requires some calculation.

Freshman Jenny Martinez, whose family has a history of diabetes, says: "It's very scary to hear that something that I drink so often can increase my risk of diabetes." "As for obesity," she adds, "I completely agree that it does have a substantial amount of calories and coming from someone who drinks them often, I can honestly say that they do increase body weight."