A new study -- which looked at the frequency of soda consumption in subjects -- has concluded that frequently soda drinkers might be at a higher risk for diabetes and heart disease.
New research published by the American Heart Association indicates that daily consumption of sugary soft drinks can result in an increase in the type of body fat associated with diabetes and heart disease.
According to CTV News, the study collected data from 1003 participants who provided information about their food habits. At the end of a six year period, each participant had their body fat measured using CT scans.
The study, which was published in the journal Circulation, was conducted with an average participant age of 45. Additionally, nearly half of these participants were women.
A metric was developed to determine how many sugar-sweetened soft drinks a subject consumes over a given period of time. Each subject was divided into a category based on how often they drink a sugary soda drink. These subjects were non-drinkers, occasional drinkers (who drank sugar-sweetened sodas less than once a week); frequent drinkers (once a week); and daily drinkers.
After six years, it was found that there is a direct link between the consumption of sugar-sweetened sodas and an increase in visceral fat — the kind of fat the wraps around internal organs such as the liver, pancreas, and intestines.
The data indicated that those who do not drink sugar sweetened soft-drinks at all are the ones who are at the lowest risk for developing increases in visceral fat.
Visceral fat is crucial to how hormones function and is believed to be connected to the body’s resistance to insulin, which can increase a person’s risk of Type 2 diabetes as well as heart disease.
“Our message to consumers is to follow current dietary guidelines and to be mindful of how much sugar-sweetened beverages they drink,” says Caroline S. Fox, the leader of the study and a former investigator with the Framingham Heart Study.
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