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

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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.”

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Study Suggests Global Rise In Type 2 Diabetes Attributed To Refined Carbs And Red Meat Consumption 

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According to a new study recently published in the journal Nature Medicine, consuming too many refined carbohydrates, such as wheat and rice products, as well as a lack of grains is contributing to the global growth rate of type 2 diabetes. 

Senior author Dr. Dariush Mozaffarian, professor of nutrition and medicine at Tufts University said in a statement that the “study suggests poor carbohydrate quality is a leading driver of diet-attributable type 2 diabetes globally.”

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The study also stated that the consumption of red, processed meats is also a contributing factor. The main three conclusions the study cited as primary drivers to over 14 million new cases of type 2 diabetes in 2018 were eating too few whole grains, too many processed carbohydrates/grains, and too much red meat.

“These new findings reveal critical areas for national and global focus to improve nutrition and reduce devastating burdens of diabetes.”

The study estimated that 70% of cases of type 2 diabetes around the world in 2018 were linked to habits relating to food consumption. 

Dr. Mozaffarian and his team involved in the study developed their research model based on dietary intake from 1990 and 2018, and applied the research to 184 countries. When they compared the numbers from 1990 to 2018, they found that 8.6 million more cases of type 2 diabetes brought on by poor diet choices developed. 

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For men, urban residents, and younger individuals especially, the researchers found that eating too many unhealthy foods was a larger contributing factor than not enough healthy foods in some cases. 

Eating too much refined rice, wheat, potatoes, processed/unprocessed meats, and drinking too much sugar-sweetened beverages account for the main dietary habits attributed with 60% of the total global diet-attributable cases of type 2 diabetes. 

On the other end, a lack of fruits, vegetables, nuts, seeds, whole grains, and yogurt attributed to around 39% of cases. 

Individuals in Poland, Russia, and other Eastern/Central European countries where diets tend to focus on red/processed meat and potatoes, had the highest percentage of new type 2 diabetes cases. 

“Our modeling approach does not prove causation, and our findings should be considered as estimates of risk,” the authors wrote.