Carbonated and sugary drinks could be responsible for one in six new cases of type 2 diabetes.
Worldwide, 2.2 million people developed type 2 diabetes due to sugary drinks in 2020, according to a new analysis.
This represents almost 10 percent of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes worldwide.
But in the UK, researchers estimate that more than 16 percent of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2020 could blame unhealthy drinks.
Sugary drinks, such as cola, lemonade, and trendy energy drinks, are drunk and digested quickly, unlike high-calorie foods, which take longer to consume, and the drinks do not make people feel as full, according to the researchers.
It means that those who drink them regularly consume a lot of calories and gain weight, greatly increasing their chances of developing type 2 diabetes.
The new research, which looked at 184 countries in total, blames sugary drinks for more than 35,000 new cases of type 2 diabetes in the UK in 2020.
The drinks are also linked to more than 11,000 cases of cardiovascular disease in the UK in 2020.
The researchers looked at two types of cardiovascular diseases: heart disease caused by blocked arteries and strokes caused by blood clots.
In the UK, researchers estimate that more than 16 percent of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes in 2020 could blame unhealthy drinks (file image)
The new research, which looked at 184 countries in total, blames sugary drinks for more than 35,000 new cases of type 2 diabetes in the UK in 2020 (file image)
Researchers looked at two types of cardiovascular diseases: heart disease caused by blocked arteries and strokes caused by blood clots (file image)
Almost one in 20 cases of such cardiovascular disease in the UK in 2020 were considered caused by sugary drinks.
The researchers note that even after a tax on soft drinks was introduced in the UK in 2018, sales continued to increase, which may be due to “marketing strategies” by soft drink companies.
Dr Laura Lara-Castor, who led the study at Tufts University in the US and is now at the University of Washington, said: “We need greater and more aggressive efforts to reduce sugary drink consumption by people, including restrictions on advertising like that. aimed at children, crackdown on sugary drinks served in schools and workplaces, health warnings on drink bottles.’
“The UK could also consider a higher sugar tax so that companies reduce sugar in their drinks even further and people are less likely to buy sugary drinks.”
The analysis, published in the journal Nature Medicine, looked at the number of people diagnosed with type 2 diabetes and cardiovascular disease in each country in 1990 and 2020, and the likely proportion of people in each country who consumed sugary drinks based on studies that asked people about your diet.
Among the 30 most populous countries, the United Kingdom recorded the tenth largest increase in the number of new cases of type 2 diabetes caused by consumption of sugary drinks in 2020 compared to 1990.
But it saw the biggest drop in deaths from cardiovascular disease linked to sugary drinks.
In the UK, almost one in 25 deaths from type 2 diabetes (the death of 227 people) was linked to people consuming fizzy and sugary drinks.
It is estimated that around one in 40 deaths from cardiovascular diseases (more than 2,700) were caused by sugary drinks.
Among the 30 most populous countries, the UK recorded the 10th largest increase in the number of new cases of type 2 diabetes (file image)
Researchers note that even after a tax on soft drinks was introduced in the UK in 2018, sales continued to increase, which may be due to “marketing strategies” (file image)
The estimates were made possible by previous studies that tracked rates of illness and death in people who drank large amounts of sugary drinks.
The findings were particularly worrying in developing countries, where more than 21 percent of all new cases of type 2 diabetes in sub-Saharan Africa are linked to sugary drinks.
The drinks were considered the cause of almost half of all new diagnoses of type 2 diabetes in Colombia and almost a third of those in Mexico.
Regular consumption of sugary drinks over time causes the body to regulate blood sugar less effectively, which can lead to type 2 diabetes, and is thought to cause inflammation in the body that hardens blood vessels and can lead to heart problems. .
The study attributes 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease observed worldwide in 2020 to sugary drinks.
However, the UK saw a large reduction in the number of cases of this disease linked to sugary drinks between 1990 and 2020. Professor Dariush Mozaffarian, lead author of the study, from Tufts University, said: “Sweetened drinks with sugar they are marketed and sold a lot. in low- and middle-income countries.
“These communities not only consume harmful products, but are also often less equipped to deal with the long-term health consequences.”
Globally, men, younger adults, more educated people, and those in urban areas were found to be more likely to suffer the consequences of consuming sugary drinks.
Study attributes 1.2 million new cases of cardiovascular disease observed worldwide in 2020 to sugary drinks (file image)
Dr Lara-Castor said: “We need urgent, evidence-based interventions to curb consumption of sugary drinks around the world, before their effects on diabetes and heart disease shorten even more lives.”
A government spokesperson said: ‘Diabetes can be debilitating and cost our economy and the NHS.
‘As part of our Ten-Year Health Plan, this government is committed to shifting the focus of healthcare from disease to prevention.
“The government is reviewing the tax on the soft drinks industry to ensure it remains effective in combating obesity and other harms caused by high sugar consumption.”