Sugary drinks linked to millions of new diabetes and heart disease cases, study finds

More than 2.2 million new diabetes cases and 1.1 million new heart disease cases globally are attributed to sugary drinks annually, according to research published in Nature Medicine.

The study revealed health inequalities, with Latin America and the Caribbean seeing sugary drinks contribute to 24 per cent of new diabetes cases in 2020. Sub-Saharan Africa, which experienced the largest percentage increase in cases between 1990 and 2020, recorded more than 21 per cent of new diabetes cases and 11 per cent of new heart disease cases linked to sugary beverages.

Colombia was particularly affected, with sugary drinks responsible for 48 per cent of new diabetes cases. In Mexico, nearly one-third of new diabetes cases were attributed to sugary drinks, whilst South Africa reported 27.6 per cent of new diabetes cases and 14.6 per cent of cardiovascular disease cases linked to these beverages.

The rapid digestion of sugary drinks causes blood-sugar spikes with minimal nutritional benefit, leading to weight gain and metabolic issues associated with type 2 diabetes and heart disease, researchers from Tufts University found.

Dr Dariush Mozaffarian, director of Tuft’s Food is Medicine Institute and study co-author, said sugar-sweetened beverages are heavily marketed in low- and middle-income nations, which often lack resources to address long-term health impacts.

According to the World Health Organization, 830 million people globally have diabetes, predominantly in low- and middle-income countries. Cardiovascular diseases, causing an estimated 17.9 million deaths annually, particularly affect these nations, accounting for over three-quarters of deaths.

Dr Catherine Kanari, from Amref Health Africa in Kenya, highlighted concerns about social media influencers promoting sugary drinks to young people in urban areas, noting that increased diabetes cases risk overwhelming health systems.

The researchers advocate for public health campaigns, advertising regulation, and sugar-sweetened beverage taxes. Mexico, among the world’s highest consumers of sugary drinks, implemented such a tax in 2014.