Sugary Drinks Linked to Global Rise in Diabetes, Heart Disease
Health|Diabetes and Heart Disease Rise Alongside Sugary Drink Consumption
https://www.nytimes.com/2025/01/06/health/sugary-soda-beverages-diabetes-heart-disease.html
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A new study assesses the effects of sugar-laden beverages on global health, with higher rates of consumption found in Latin America and parts of Africa.
Across the world, the consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages is responsible for about 340,000 deaths each year from Type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease, according to a study published Monday that is one of the largest attempts to assess how the spread of Western eating habits is affecting global health.
The study, in the journal Nature, also found that sugary drinks were linked to 2.2 million additional cases of Type 2 diabetes and 1.2 million cases of cardiovascular disease in 2020, with a disproportionate share of those cases concentrated in sub-Saharan Africa and Latin America.
As it happens, those two continents have also experienced the biggest jump in the consumption of soft drinks in recent years as soda companies, faced with declining sales in North America and Europe, have sought new customers in the developing world.
The estimated death toll of 340,000 is a significant increase from previous assessments of how sugar-sweetened drinks affect global health. A 2015 study published in the journal Circulation estimated 184,000 deaths worldwide in 2010 from sugary drink consumption.
The negative health effects of sugar-sweetened drinks — carbonated soda, energy drinks and juices with added sugar — are well-documented. By rapidly flooding the body with empty calories, they often take the place of foods and beverages with more nutritional value.
Regular consumption of the extra sugar in the drinks can lead to obesity, harm liver function and increase the risk of heart disease, hypertension and Type 2 diabetes, an especially insidious disease that can lead to blindness, amputations and premature death.