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Sugary Drinks Linked To 180,000 Deaths

Sugary Drinks Linked To 180,000 Deaths

At an American Heart Association conference, Harvard researchers linked more than 180,000 obesity-related deaths worldwide each year to sugary drinks. With regards to deaths resulting from obesity-related diseases, 1 out of every 100 is caused by drinking sugary beverages.

The study analyzed 35 of the worlds largest countries and were able to draw a correlation between sugary drink consumption and increases in deaths resulting from diabetes, cardiovascular disease and cancer. They used data from 114 national dietary surveys and controlled for factors which lead to weight gain like watching TV, changes in physical activity levels, smoking and food and drink consumption. After crunching the numbers they could determine what percentage of deaths were tied to diabetes related diseases.

The conclusion was simple. In parts of the world where sugary drink consumption is high more people died from diabetes, heart disease and cancer. The American Beverage Association disagrees with this conclusion and was quick to point out the research has not yet been peer-reviewed or published. The ABA goes on to say, "The researchers make a huge leap when they illogically and wrongly take beverage intake calculations from around the globe and allege that those beverages are the cause of deaths which the authors themselves acknowledge are due to chronic disease."

The American Heart Association has stated that there is increasing evidence of a link between sugar consumption and cardiovascular disease but that it is not yet conclusive. The AHA says that a healthy lifestyle including diet and exercise is still the best way to lower the risk of heart disease. Part of that is to limit sugar intake to no more than 100 calories a day for women and 150 for men.

Image by: steve hanna