We all know that sugary drinks are bad for us, yet as a society we consume them anyways because we think that it will never happen to us. In this article by My Health News Daily shows that there is a direct correlation between sugary drinks, poor nutrition and the number of deaths by Type 2 Diabetes. Most individuals do not take a proactive approach to their health and wellness until something drastic happens like a heart attack or DUI.
Consumption of soda and other sugar-sweetened beverages may contribute to hundreds of thousands of deaths around the world, mainly due to Type 2 diabetes, a new study says.
The results show sugar-sweetened beverage consumption
is linked to 180,000 deaths a year worldwide, including 25,000 deaths a year in the United States, the researchers say.
Of the 15 most populated countries, Mexico had the highest rate of death linked to the beverages at 318 yearly deaths per million adults, and Japan had the lowest at 10 yearly deaths per million adults.
Earlier studies show drinking sugar-sweetened beverages increases the risk of chronic diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, and the new study provides an estimate just how big this problem is, the researchers said.
“Our findings should push policy makers world-wide to make effective policies to reduce consumption of sugary beverages, such as taxation, mass-media campaigns, and reducing availability of these drinks,” said study researcher Gitanjali M. Singh, a postdoctoral research fellow at the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston, Mass.
However, experts cautioned the study found only an association, and cannot prove that sugar-sweetened beverage consumption caused these deaths. Sugar-sweetened beverages (SSBs) are often just part of a bad diet that contributes to poor health.
“Diets with more calories from SSBs are poorer diets overall,” said Dr. David Katz, director of the Prevention Research Center at Yale University School of Medicine, who was not involved in the study. “They may also have more starch, or sodium, or trans fat, or chemicals, and almost certainly do,” Katz said.
The new study included information from 114 countries, looking at dietary surveys to assess sugar-sweetened beverage consumption, as well the number of deaths from certain diseases. The researchers used information from earlier studies to estimate the effect of sugary drink consumption on weight gain, and, in turn, the effect of weight gain on the risk of death from cardiovascular disease, diabetes and cancer.
The next time you go to pick up a drink because you need to quench your thirst consider the fact that you could be the next in line to increase the death toll. Most people who are truly thirsty are dehydrated and re-hydrating with water is your best bet to quench your thirst. A 1% decrease in hydration levels can impair energy performance in an individual. An average consumption of water is 8 to 10 oz. every three hours and during hot months it should be double that amount.