Regular Consumption of Sugar-Sweetened Beverages Is Associated with Excess Risk for Type 2 Diabetes

Is consuming sugar-sweetened beverages, artificially sweetened beverages, and fruit juice associated with excess risk for developing type 2 diabetes? To answer this question, researchers performed a systematic review and meta-analysis of 17 multinational cohort studies (>460,000 adults; age range, 19–84). Median follow-up ranged from 3.4 to 21.1 years. About 28,000 study patients developed type 2 diabetes.

Higher consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages was associated with significantly higher risk for type 2 diabetes: 18% higher risk per 1 serving daily. After adjustment for baseline adiposity, risk was still 13% higher. Consuming artificially sweetened beverages also was associated with higher risk (25% and 8% higher risk per 1 serving dai…