A large systematic review reveals strong link between consumption of soft drinks, increased calorie intake and body weight.

Full-calorie soft drinks are also linked with reduced intake of milk and fruit and increased risk of type 2 diabetes. “Recommendations to reduce population soft drink consumption are strongly supported by the available science,” concludes the review of 88 studies.

 

Carbonated soft drinks are the single largest source of calories in the American diet, according to a 2005 report called “Liquid Candy,” produced by the nonprofit Center for Science in the Public Interest (CSPI). Companies annually manufacture enough soda pop to provide more than 52 gallons to every man, woman and child in the United States.

Of 21 studies, 19 showed that as people drink more soda pop, the number of calories they consume rises. Moreover, the studies using the most reliable statistical methods showed the largest effects.

Instead of satisfying a sweet tooth, soft drinks may do just the opposite. Several studies found that the caloric increase is actually greater than that contained in the soda, raising “the possibility that soft drinks increase hunger, decrease satiety or simply calibrate people to a high level of sweetness that generalizes to preferences in other foods,” the authors say.

“These results, taken together, provide clear and consistent evidence that people do not compensate for the added calories they consume in soft drinks by reducing their intake of other foods,” the reviewers say.

The authors anticipated a weaker relationship between soft drink consumption and body weight, because there are many other calorie sources in the diet. Yet in the highest-quality studies, which controlled for a number of unrelated variables, a moderate relationship existed. The review also showed a slight correlation between soft drink consumption and lower intakes of milk, calcium, fruit and fiber.

The “most striking link” was between soft drink consumption and the incidence of type 2 diabetes, according to the reviewers. In a study of 91,249 women followed for eight years, those who consumed one or more soft drinks per day were twice as likely as those who consumed less than one per month to develop diabetes

“This result alone warrants serious concern about soft drink intake, particularly in light of the unprecedented rise in type 2 diabetes among children,” the review says.

The consumer advocacy group calls for clearly presented calorie information at vending machines, convenience stores and restaurants. The group urges schools to stop selling full-calorie soft drinks.

No wonder, American Beverage Association is worried - who likes losing money? It says the U.S. obesity problem can’t be linked to any one food product or beverage.

That's right. Soda is just one of many food products that are "found guilty", along with french fries and greasy burgers.

"Nobody claims there is a single cause to the obesity problem, but the existing science certainly puts soft drinks in the list of leading contributors," said review co-author Kelly Brownell, Ph.D. He is director of the Rudd Center for Food Policy and Obesity at Yale University.

The systematic review appears in the April issue of the American Journal of Public Health. The work was supported in part by the Rudd Foundation, a private philanthropic organization focusing on obesity and education. 

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