New Study Reveals Sugary Drinks Linked To Millions Of New Diabetes And Heart Disease Cases 

According to a new study published in Nature Medicine, sugary drinks are responsible for more than 2.2 million cases of diabetes and 1.1 million new cases of heart disease a year around the world. 

The study highlighted rising health inequalities, citing that Latin America and the Caribbean say sugary drinks contribute to about 24% of new type 2 diabetes cases in 2020. 

In sub-Saharan Africa, they had the greatest percentage increase in diabetes cases from 1990 to 2020, and sugary drinks led to 21% of new diabetes cases and 11% of new heart disease cases. 

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Columbia, Mexico, and South Africa also experienced major rises. Half of new diabetes cases in Columbia were connected to sugary drink consumption. One-third of new diabetes cases in Mexico were also linked with 27.6% of cases in South Africa also being connected. 

Part of the science behind this connection has to do with how quickly sugary drinks are digested. The speed causes a spike in blood-sugar levels and provides little nutritional value. 

“Sugar-sweetened beverages are heavily marketed and sold in low- and middle-income nations. Not only are these communities consuming harmful products, but they are also often less well equipped to deal with the long-term health consequences,” Dariush Mozaffarian, one of the paper’s authors, said.

Around 830 million people have diabetes around the world. A majority of these individuals live in low to middle income countries. Type 2 diabetes can be prevented, unlike type 1. Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death around the world with about 17.9 million people dying from the disease annually. 

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“We are seeing a rise in the popularity of sugary drinks fuelled by influencer culture online. In urban centres, young people are targeted by social media influencers that are paid to promote branded sugary drinks to them, filling an information gap left by the lack of school-based nutrition education,” Dr Catherine Kanari, a non-communicable diseases specialist for Amref Health Africa in Kenya, said.

“Ultimately, a rise in diabetes cases risks straining our health system to beyond its limits.”

The authors of the study are hoping that their research will spark greater conversations about the measures that can be taken to help prevent this consistent increase in diabetes and heart disease. They’re calling for more public health compaigns as well as greater regulation on sugary drink advertisements.

“Much more needs to be done, especially in countries in Latin America and Africa where consumption is high and the health consequences severe,” said Mozaffarian. 

“As a species, we need to address sugar-sweetened beverage consumption.”