Sugar coated menace
women who drink more than one soft drink a day are more likely to suffer from diabetes than females who consume less than one a month, according to a research. The study, which has been published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, is based on the analysis of data from a health study of 51,603 nurses. Researchers scrutinised survey forms filled in by the nurses in 1991, 1995 and 1999, detailing their eating habits, weight, physical activity and health problems. The researchers found there were 741 new cases of type-2 diabetes during the span, and women who drank one or more sugar-sweetened soft drinks a day were twice as likely to develop diabetes than those who consumed fewer than one a month. When factors such as weight, diet and lifestyle were considered, the researchers found that women drinking sugary sodas were 1.3 times more likely to develop the disease.
"The findings led us to suggest that in addition to being the sources of extra calories, the beverages might also increase diabetes risk because their high amount of rapidly absorbed sugars causes a dramatic rise in glucose and insulin concentrations in the body,' says Walter Willett, one of the study's co-authors, who is the chairperson of the department of nutrition, Harvard School of Public Health, usa. "I think there is a very practical implication of the study, both for weight control and for type-2 diabetes. One has to keep the soda consumption low,' adds Willett.
As per the researchers, fruit juice consumption was not associated with the diabetes risk and diet soft drinks were not statistically significant, but sugared fruit punch showed similar results to sugared soda. Diabetes experts agree with the findings. "The study must impel doctors to ask the patients about their soda consumption,' asserts Caroline M Apovian, associate professor of medicine at the Boston University School of Medicine, usa.