Regularly drinking sugar-sweetened beverages such as soda and juice contributes to the development of diabetes, high blood pressure and other endemic health problems, according to a review of epidemiological studies published in the Journal of the Endocrine Society.
The analysis also found a link between sugar-sweetened beverage consumption and the metabolic syndrome--a cluster of risk factors that raise the chances of developing heart disease, stroke and diabetes, according to the Hormone Health Network. The risk factors include abdominal obesity, high levels of fats in the blood known as triglycerides, elevated blood pressure, high-fasting blood sugar and reduced high-density lipoprotein (HDL), or good, cholesterol levels.
The World Health Organization estimates that cardiometabolic conditions such as the metabolic syndrome and diabetes result in 19 million deaths a year.
"Sugar-sweetened beverage consumption is steadily rising among all age groups worldwide," said the review's senior author, M. Faadiel Essop, Ph.D., of Stellenbosch University in Stellenbosch, South Africa. "Our analysis revealed that most epidemiological studies strongly show that frequent intake of these beverages contributes to the onset of the metabolic syndrome, diabetes and hypertension."