A new study that looked at hundreds of thousands of people (451,743 adults from 10 European countries) has linked the consumption of soft drinks with an increased risk of premature death. The researchers found that the association applied to both artificially sweetened (light, zero) and sugary drinks. The conclusions have been published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine.
Of course, because the study is observational, the findings do not prove that regular consumption of soft drinks causes premature death. However, researchers have found that the results support health initiatives to reduce public consumption of such beverages.
Study with almost half a million people
The data come from the European Prospective Investigation into Cancer and Nutrition (EPIC). When registering, the participants gave information about their consumption of food and beverages, either by filling in questionnaires or in interviews. Their average age was 51 years, and 71% were women. None had heart disease, cancer, diabetes, or stroke from the start.
Of the participants who participated in the analysis, 41,693 died during a follow-up that lasted an average of 16.4 years.
Fruit juices are not “soft drinks”
The researchers compared the deaths during follow-up of those who said they drank soda every day with those who said they consumed almost nothing, meaning less than one glass per month.
The team defined a glass as 250 milliliters. The consumption of soft drinks included the consumption of carbonated soft drinks such as cola and lemonade; isotonic or energy drinks and diet and low calorie carbonated soft drinks. The consumption of soft drinks does not include fruit juices.
Their analysis revealed that drinking two or more glasses per day of artificially sweetened, sugar-sweetened sodas was linked to an increased risk of death from all causes compared to consuming almost no soda. The team looked at the link in both men and women.
Lifestyle
At the beginning of the study, the participants also answered questions about their health and lifestyle. Using this information, the researchers were able to rule out any influence from factors such as physical activity, body mass index (BMI), education, smoking, and diet.
A later analysis also revealed that, compared to the consumption of two or more glasses a day of artificially sweetened soft drinks, it was linked to an increased risk of circulatory diseases. In the cases of sugar-sweetened sodas, the link was an increased risk of death from digestive diseases.
“There was no association between soda consumption and overall death from cancer,” the authors write.
Body mass index
The researchers note that regardless of whether they included or eliminated the potential influence of BMI, the results did not change. They also found positive links between artificially sweetened and sugary soft drinks with deaths from all causes, as well as deaths from circulatory and digestive diseases among participants whose BMI was in the healthy range.
Such results would suggest that the links they observed were probably not related to body fat. They support the idea that the link between soft drinks and premature death occurs through other routes.
Referencia: Association Between Soft Drink Consumption and Mortality in 10 European Countries Amy Mullee,; Dora Romaguera,; Jonathan Pearson-Stuttard, et al Vivian Viallon, Magdalena Stepien,; Heinz Freisling, Guy Fagherazzi ,; Francesca Romana Mancini, Marie-Christine Boutron-Ruault,; Tilman Kühn, Rudolf Kaaks, Heiner Boeing; Krasimira Aleksandrova, Anne Tjønneland,; Jytte Halkjær ,; Kim Overvad, Elisabete Weiderpass,; Guri Skeie ,; Christine L. Parr … JAMA Intern Med. Published online September 3, 2019. DOI: doi: 10.1001 / jamainternmed.2019.2478
