Newest Study Finds a Soda a day Ups Diabetes Risk by a Fifth

Gulping down one 12-ounce sugar-sweetened soft drink a day can increase the risk of type 2 diabetes by 22 percent, a new study from Europe finds.

The results of the study, undertaken by the School of Public Health, Imperial College London, United Kingdom, corroborate research conducted in North American populations.

The study evaluated the links between the intake of sweet beverages – juices, nectars, sugar-sweetened soft drinks and artificially sweetened soft drinks – and type 2 diabetes.  The team studied 12,403 incidents of type 2 diabetes cases and a random sub-cohort of 16,153 individuals.   

According to the study team, “clear” population-based messages on the harmful effects of these beverages on health “should be given.”

Last month, a state judge stopped New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg’s administration from banning the sale of large sugary drinks at New York City restaurants and other venues.  Bloomberg knows he is on to something here and the city plans to appeal the ruling.

Read more on the harmful effects of sugar-sweetened soft drinks.